B S Yediyurappa seeks to auction iron ore of C-category mines

In an apparent endeavour to raise revenue for the cash-strapped state in the wake of the Covid pandemic, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday directed officials to speed up the process of auctioning of iron ore belonging to 'C'category mines.

After the Supreme Court directed cancellation of 'C' category licences, an amount of 800 million tonne of ore has been lying without use. The 'C' category are mines where operations illegally extended their lease boundaries by more than 15%.

In a review meeting with officials of the Mines and Geology department, Yediyurappa asked officials to resolve technical issues posing as a hurdle for the auction.

Meanwhile, the state government had collected about Rs 28 crore through royalty from mining companies, meant for development of mining-affected regions in the state. This fund was now being used for Covid-19 relief measures, Mines and Geology Minister C C Patil informed the CM during the review meeting.

Further, the government also hoped to raise revenue through the new sand policy, recently cleared by the Cabinet, Patil added. The new policy allows for sand mining in ponds and tanks, relaxing norms which was earlier restricted to river basins.