'State-AP border pillars demolished'

The AP Government had constituted the committee comprising Special Principal Chief Conservator of Forests C Sami Reddy, Additional PCCF Omkar Singh and Additional PCCF SBL Misra to look into allegations of illegal mining in Bellary Reserve Forest of Ananthapur Forest Division.

The committee, which visited the Obulapuram mining lease area, said the company had shifted boundary pillar of station no 8 to the west towards Karnataka by about 40 m  and constructed a permanent pillar there. “Shifting of permanent survey station pillars is a gross irregularity committed by the company”, the report said.

The committee has taken exception to survey of mining lease areas in Bellary Reserve Forest area conducted earlier by Andhra Pradesh government. The committee said the survey report had many loopholes. The inter-State boundary did not match with boundaries of mining lease areas.

The committee said there was a huge difference between the extent of ore extracted by OMC in its mining lease areas and the extent of ore exported. It said the company had transported ore, mined elsewhere, through Andhra Pradesh. The report also noticed that OMC encroached upon 140 acres of land sanctioned to Dalits, to lay a railway track for transporting iron ore extracted by the company.

BJP: The BJP on Wednesday asserted that no action can be initiated against the Reddy brothers of Bellary just because their mining company has come under the CBI scanner.
“They (Reddy brothers) are innocent until proven guilty. If the CBI files an FIR or charge-sheet against them then its a different case and the party will think about taking suitable action”, BJP Spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told reporters in Bangalore on Wednesday.