Can't extend deadline to mark AP-K’taka boundary: SC

The Supreme Court has made it categorical that it would not extend the deadline of August 31 for completing the task of demarcating boundary around the iron ore-rich belt of Ballari reserve forest area.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta was on Friday informed that a meeting took place on July 23 among the officers at the office of the Surveyor General in Dehradun to arrive at a final conclusion on the matter of the inter-state boundary between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand and advocate A D N Rao furnished the minutes of the meeting wherein it was resolved that a joint field exercise would be carried out from August 1 on the ground by a team of Survey of India, and Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh officers.

“The Survey of India will also plot the traverse field records given by the government of Andhra Pradesh and give its report in the next meeting, scheduled on August 10 and 11 at Bengaluru to complete the exercise of finalising the inter-state border,” they said.

Taking note of the submissions, the court said both the state governments will depute their officers concerned as representatives for the joint field exercise and the scheduled meeting.

“We make it clear that the time granted will not be extended beyond August 31, 2018,” the bench said, putting the matter for further consideration on August 20.

The top court had earlier on July 2 expressed its strong displeasure that the work for demarcating the boundary has not been completed even after passage of several years, since the first order in this regard was passed on March 22, 2010.

On Friday, advocate Anitha Shenoy, appearing for Karnataka tendered her apology for not being present on the last date of hearing. The court accepted it.