Firm seeks to look for bauxite in 1,100-acre forest in Karnataka's Honnavar

Bengaluru: Days after DH reported on a Bengaluru firm seeking to drill holes in Kenchanahalli of Chikkamagaluru to explore gold, a Maharashtra-based company has now sought to explore bauxite ore in 1,087 acres of forest land in Honnavar, close to the newly declared Apsarakonda sanctuary.

PRB Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, a company based in Nagpur, has sought clearances to drill 25 boreholes and 25 pits in the Nittadgi block in the forests of Honnavar division.

The total cost of the project is estimated at about Rs 1.4 crore. Bauxite is a key mineral required in the making of aluminum.

The move comes months after a technical committee under the union ministry of mines approved the exploration proposal earlier this year.

The company in March submitted an offline request to the deputy conservator of forests, Honnavar division, for preliminary survey.

Fragile & sensitive area

About 2.5 km of the northern boundary of the area exploration site is located about 200-300 metres from the Sharavathi river. Marine life is already seeing pressure from increasing commercial activities, illegal sand mining as well as waste dumped in the name of tourism.

Sources in the department said that the Honnavar division had gone through the proposal and sent a detailed request. However, at the time, the government had not yet declared the Apsarakonda marine sanctuary, the first attempt by the state government to protect whales, dolphins, sharks as well as lesser known marine life.

In June, the government declared Apsarakonda-Mugali sanctuary, bringing protection to about 1,000 hectares of land adjoining the sea. Researchers who studied the area have also highlighted the rich flora of the area.

To a question on the impact on the new sanctuary, Honnavar deputy conservator of forests Yogeesha C K said the matter was being assessed.

“Our field officers are going to submit a report on the matter, which will help establish details about the site’s proximity to any protected area. I am going to visit the site to assess the situation before submitting the report,” he told DH.