CM to meet top officers on mining today

Meet will draft States affidavit to SC

Gowda has directed officials that a detailed presentation be made on the status of various mining issues including the recent report of Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which has recommended to the Supreme Court that it extend the ban on mining in the districts of Tumkur and Chitradurga also, as was done in Bellary district.

The State government will have to file an affidavit specifying its stand before the Apex Court on August 26. The Supreme Court is at present addressing environment issues due to mining. A senior officer said there was no agenda for the meeting and any mining related issue could be taken up for discussion.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at the chief minister’s home office ‘Krishna.’ The Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries and officials of the departments concerned, and the Law Department will be participating in the meeting to be held in the morning, the sources said.

The CEC in its latest report has stated that environment degradation caused in the districts of Tumkur and Chirtradurga “were in no way less than that what has taken place in Bellary.” Further, the CEC wanted a direction to restrain the mining companies from exporting the 12,000 tonnes of ore already mined from these two districts.

The meeting will finalise the stand of the government to be placed before the Supreme Court, the sources said.

The chief minister will also be briefed on the reports of the CEC submitted to the Supreme Court earlier this year. The Chief Secretary had filed a solo affidavit on April 22 before the apex court on illegal mining and action taken on CEC reports.

The Supreme Court had expressed dissatisfaction with the report of the CEC and ordered setting up a new team to conduct a fresh survey of 99 mining leases.

Lokayukta report

The meeting is also likely to take up the Lokayukta’s report on illegal mining. However, a final decision on the recommendations made by the Lokayukta would be taken only after a four-member committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary K Jairaj set up to study the Lokayukta report, submits its report. The committee has been given two months time to submit its report.