Iron Ore Mining in Karnataka: Oversight authority says unable to express opinion on raising production cap

Authority notes conflicting view of CEC and Monitoring Authority

An oversight authority headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudarshan Reddy has told the top court that it is unable to express "firm opinion" on a demand by miners from Karnataka to raise the annual cap of 35 million metric tonnes of iron ore production in the mines of Ballari, Chitradurga and Tumkuru districts, in view of conflicting reports by the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee and monitoring committee.

CEC, industry bodies FIMI South, and KISMA and the Karnataka government favoured for removal of district level caps on production. The Union government's Ministries of Mines and Steel had also recommended for doing away with the ceiling in order to make the mines of Karnataka at par with the rest of the country.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana is scheduled to consider the matter on Monday, August 22.

A report filed by the oversight authority said, "It is not for the authority to express any opinion whether the monitoring committee has exceeded its brief in joining an issue with the CEC by pleading for continuation of the ceiling limit."

Read | Access to int'l markets restores price parity: Mining firms

It also emphasised that it is just and necessary to gather further evidence in the matters of "currently available road infrastructure, and "existing as well as improvements made to transport infrastructure".

The top court appointed the authority on April 21, 2022 to oversee the works and progress made by the special purpose vehicle, i.e., Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation. On May 20, the court asked the authority to take inputs from stakeholders including the CEC and the monitoring committee and send its opinions on the issue of lifting of ceiling limit of iron ore production in mining leases of three districts of Karnataka.

After giving an opportunity of personal hearing to all the stakeholders, the authority found that FIMI South, KISMA and as well as CEC in one voice pleaded that the district level caps on production of iron ore imposed by the top court by its order on April 13, 2012 and judgment on December 14, 2017 need to be relaxed. They practically suggested that there is no need and justification to impose any such ceiling. The writ petitioners NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya and the monitoring committee, however, submitted that it would not be appropriate, at this juncture, to remove the caps, in view of "inter-generational equity" and "sustainable development".

The monitoring committee, for its part said, during the comment financial year (2022-23), despite the ceiling, about 63.86 MMT of ore (including waste dump of low grade) will be available for sale. The total consumption from all the mines during 2021-22 was about 3,98,33,602 MT and about 1,19,15,433 MT is still left unsold and available for sale during 2022-23.

The writ petitioners, for their part, claimed, "FIMI and its member mining companies, aided for unknown reasons by the CEC, deliberately led the Supreme Court into the present crisis, in order to wring out further concessions, which in letter and spirit, are in direct opposition to the concerns addressed in the final order and judgment of April 19, 2013."