Bid to rejuvenate Bhadravathi’s VISL plant suffers setback

At a time when talks are underway to revive the Bhadravathi-based Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant Ltd (VISL), the Forest department has opposed the conversion of the company’s Ramanadurga Iron Ore Mine forest.

The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) had submitted an application, on behalf of VISL, TO THE Centre seeking conversion of 150 acres (60.70 hectares) of forest in Ramanamalai (Ramgarh) forest block in Sandur taluk for mining purpose.  

The Centre had forwarded the application to  the Forest department for site inspection by the project review committee.

 Accordingly, the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) of Ballari division, who inspected the site on Sept 25, 2025 and Nov 25, 2025, recommended to the Range Conservator of Forests (RF) on December 1, 2025, to reject the SAIL proposal citing various reasons.

The forest area where the VISL proposed to take up mining is a virgin forest and rich in biodiversity. If the mining is taken up here, more than 29,000 trees will face the axe, according to the report submitted by the DCF.

The said forest area may not fall under any wildlife sanctuary or the protected area, but it is rich in flora and fauna. The Ramanadurga forest is home to leopards, bears, wolves and yellow-throated bulbul among others. It was found during the inspection that the forest is also home to over 160 species of birds, water holes, varied flora, reptiles, amphibians and insects, it is said.

The Supreme Court had capped the ore extraction in mines under Ballari district to 35 million tonnes a year in a petition submitted by Samaj Parivartana Samudaya in 2022. But the ore extraction in A and B category mines in Sandur has already crossed the ceiling fixed by the Apex Court. Hence, giving any new mining permission is not justified, the DCF stated in the recommendation made to the Centre.

On March 23, 2016, the meeting chaired by the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) resolved not to allow new mining permission in the virgin forests. If VISL allowed conversion of Ramanadurga forests for extraction of ore, it would be against the stand taken in the 2016 meeting, the DCF stated.

No captive mines

“The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is out to revive the now-defunct VISL plant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given his approval for the revival of Bhadravathi plant and a grant of Rs 5,000 crore will be sanctioned for the same, Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy had announced in the Taralabalu Hunnime Mahotsava held recently. But the question is “With the forest department objecting to extraction of ore at Devdari and Ramanadurga How will the VISL start functioning without the captive mines?”