Yeddy doesn?t want CBI to probe illegal mining

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said there is no need for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe illegal mining in the state.

“The Supreme Court is monitoring the issue and has taken proactive measures to curb the menace. I find no reason to order a CBI inquiry,? Yeddyurappa told reporters.

?We will take all possible measures to curb illegal mining and are awaiting the court’s direction on the issue,? he said.

Rampant illegal mining was going in in Karnataka, particularly Bellary district, with ‘active’ connivance of government officials and elected representatives, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) said on Friday.

Placing its interim report before the apex court, the CEC said illegal mining was on colossal scale and there was export of 304.91 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore without valid permit between 2003 to 2010 in the southern state.

Acting on the report, special forest bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia issued notice to the state government to respond to the CEC’s findings.

The CEC was formed by the Supreme Court in February and given six weeks time to submit its report.

The CEC was earlier asked to probe the Andhra Pradesh side of the Bellary region.

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, had filed a petition before the apex court, alleging that illegal mining was going on in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the state governments had failed to stop it.

It had cited a Lokayukta report that stated that forest area was also being encroached for mining purposes.