Mining: CEC report indicts Reddy brothers

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Former Karnataka Minister and
mining baron G Janardhana Reddy-owned company adopted dubious
means and inflated the figure of iron ore extraction in order
to make illegal production of their other mines legal, says an
expert committee report submitted on Friday in the Indian apex
court.
The report of the Supreme Court-appointed Central
Empowered Committee (CEC) noted that Janardhan Reddy's AMC
(Associated Mining Company) had illegally done mining
operation during 1996-2000 in which its lease had expired and
there were irregularities in its renewal.
The CEC said even the renewal of the lease, which was
done in the year 2003 and retrospectively applied from 2000,
was illegal.
To gain full control of the AMC, Reddy adopted dubious
means, CEC said in the report which is based on findings of
the Joint team, constituted in pursuance of May 6, 2011 order
of the apex court for carrying out survey work and demarcation
of 99 mining leases in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur in the
south Indian state of Karnataka.
"The said mining lease (of AMC) was effectively
transferred to Janardhan Reddy, the then Tourism Minster, and
Minister incharge of District Bellary and G Lakshmi Aruna with
effect from August 1, 2009. This, it appears, was done by
adopting dubious means to get themselves admitted as new
partners and ensuring the retirement of all the existing
partners on the firm," the report said.
The CEC annexed with its report a letter by state-owned
National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), which said
Deccan Mining Syndicate (DMS), owned by another mining baron S
M Jain, had encroached upon its mining areas for which it had
made complaints before police, Department of Mines and
Geology, Revenue Department and other authorities of Karnataka
Government.
NMDC also said that in regard to a complaint made by it
against DMS before the police, the words "lodging an FIR" was
struck out by replacing with "take and action".
The report states that "massive illegal mining" was being
done by third parties with regard to the two mining leases of
state-owned NMDC.