Karnataka Minister halts handing over of forest land in Sandur to KIOCL for mining

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre on Sunday said he has ordered his department not to hand over about 401 hectares of forest land in Ballari's Sandur taluk to Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd for mining.

The Minister cited violations by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) in the past, failure on its part to pay fine dues to the department, and the need for it to comply with certain conditions.

"KIOCL needs to comply with certain conditions, I have ordered that until the conditions are complied with, 401.5761 hectares of forest land should not be handed over to them (KIOCL) for mining," Khandre said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "It is Forest department land, it is the property of the state government, without our permission they cannot do mining there."

Union Minister for Steel H D Kumaraswamy had recently given his approval to KIOCL to operationalise the Devadari Iron Ore Mine.

Also stating that the Devadari project is on Prime Minister's 100-day agenda, Kumaraswamy had instructed officials to work diligently in this regard and said mining should be started as soon as possible.

However, there have been concerns from various quarters including the public that about 99,000 trees would be felled if KIOCL is permitted to conduct iron ore mining in the Devadari forest area of Sandur taluk.

Noting that the KIOCL on March 16, 2018 had submitted an application for mining in Devadari forest area in Sandur, Khandre listing out development so far said, on July 27, 2018 the nodal officer had filed objections to it.

On February 18, 2020 the Forest department had submitted a letter to the government informing about its stand regarding the mining in the area, based on Forest department officials and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests' (PCCF) opinion and report that mining will cause severe destruction to the natural forest, also water sources and their flow, hence the mining should not be allowed, he said.

However, on October 9, 2020, the then government through its Additional Chief Secretary Forest, Ecology and Environment Department had set aside the opinion expressed by the officials, and submitted a proposal to the Central government regarding giving approval for mining - stage one, Khandre said.