Mining firms eye 1,000 acres of Ballari forests

Already ravaged by mining, Ballari district may see more excavators digging into its resources as companies have zeroed in on 1,000 acres of its forests to prospect for minerals.

This comes four months after the Supreme Court raised the ceiling for the amount of minerals to be extracted from Ballari from 28 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes per annum following a request by the government and a recommendation by the Central Empowered Committee.

Documents show that Kudremukh Iron Ore Corporation Ltd (KIOCL) has filed four requests to explore minerals on 872.60 acres of forest while GG Minerals has sought request for 108.5 acres. The total 981 acres forest land includes 450 acres of Hosapete Reserve Forest near to sensitive Daroji Bear Sanctuary.

Also Read | K'taka to be world's larest steel maker: Bommai

The scrub forest land is known to host a diverse fauna. The forest department has documented leopards, sloth bear, spotted deer, blackbucks, wolf, wild dog, hyenas, fox and jackal in the forest blocks which have been shrinking drastically in the last two decades.

“The requests for mineral explorations deal with forest areas which are already broken up. However, it is true that expansion of mining area will have a direct impact on the wildlife, especially in Sandur, whose forests host a thriving population of leopards,” an official said.

Such requests, however, are a cause for concern considering that the Forest Department has been reduced to a mute spectator. The government steamrolled concerns raised by the department against another proposal by KIOCL for mining on 992 acres of virgin forests of Sandur. On December 15, the company received final clearance for a project that involves cutting of 99,330 trees.

Samaja Parivatana Samudaya, whose 2009 petition in the Supreme Court was instrumental in curbing rampant illegal mining, had opposed the plea to raise the ceiling on mineral extraction in the apex court.

Sandur-based activist Sreeshaila Aladahalli, a member of Samudaya, said the government has failed to address the concerns about environment and archaeology. “The impact on environment has been completely ignored by the government. We have been left with no option but to save the forests and the temples of Sandur,” he said.

Aladahalli has documented the negative impact of the mining on the Kumaraswamy and Parvati temples, dated to 6-7 CE. A stone relief on the roof of Parvati temple fell off days after the restriction against mining within 2 km of the archaeological site was relaxed to 600 metres.

“We have written to the Archeological Survey of India for a survey of the area and a scientific study on the impact of the vibration caused by explosion and other mining activities. It has been more than two months but we are yet to receive a reply,” he said.

Another activist noted that the present methodology for assessing the environmental impact doesn’t take into account climate change. “Karnataka government already has a document that speaks of the drastic changes to happen in its districts over the next 15-20 years. Environment impact assessment should be made against such forecast before considering destructive projects,” he added.