‘Illegal auction of mines’: Central panel asks govt to address CEC red flags

Bengaluru: Weeks after the state government endorsed two requests by JSW Steel Ltd for leasing about 950.73 acres of forest land in Jaisinghpura block in Ballari’s Sandur and Vyasanakere in Vijaynagar district, an expert committee at Centre has deferred the proposal to Karnataka in view of glaring violations of the Supreme Court orders.

The three proposals, include two in Jaisinghpura (882.48 acres) and one in Vyasanakere, where the government has merged illegal (classified as category C and B) and legal (category A) mines with virgin forest area and raised the hackles of the CEC. Altering the boundary of the mine without the necessary rehabilitation and restoration works as directed by the apex court would lead to serious violations.

The Jaisinghpura south block (482.94 acres) was created by amalgamating five mines with forest while the north block (399.54 acres) was created by merging 10 mines with virgin forest area. Both involve felling of thousands of trees, which will be counted when the company files another application seeking diversion of forest land.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) pointed to the serious concerns raised by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The Advisory Committee pointed to CEC’s letter to Karnataka Chief Secretary in February 2025 stating that “non-viable Category C mining leases cannot be considered for e-auction by modification of their boundaries.” The letter further said the “boundaries of the C-Category mines are sacrosanct and can’t be changed.”

The advisory committee further cited a report submitted by the CEC to the Supreme Court and the MoEF&CC. The CEC stated that auction of mines by Karnataka was illegal in that it violated at least four different apex court orders passed between 2013 and 2017.

The FAC decided to defer the two proposals. “The state government shall submit the reply (to) the CEC letter...and submit its response to the report filed by the CEC in the Supreme Court,” the committee said.

In the Forest Department, officials defended the decision by stating that the proposal was only to sign the lease and questions raised by the CEC can be considered when the issue of handing over forest land for mining (diversion) arises.