Operation Lotus: Reddys' formula a hit , but not Yeddyurappa's

By Shivakumar G Malagi/ 23-08-2009

With the results of five Assembly byelections out on Friday, an acolyte of the Reddy brothers had this to say, "At least now, CM Yed- dyurappa must realise that no MLA poached in Opera- tion Kamal will get re-elect- ed without the support of the Reddys!" A huge gathering of party- men outside `Kuteeram', home-office of tourism min- ister G. Janardhan Reddy, analysing elections results concluded that the BJP can- not win elections without the `active participation' of the Reddy brothers. Insiders insist that byelection results have strength ened the Reddy brothers grip on Yeddyurappa government, since Oper- ation Kamal engineered by the Chief Minister's camp failed with the defeat of V.
Somanna and C.P. Yogesh- war. Whereas, the Opera- tion Kamal orchestrated by the Reddy Brothers was suc- cessful in getting nearly half a dozen opposition MLAs re-elected in by-elections including three ministers; Balachandra L. Jarkiholi; K. Shivannagouda Naik and Anand V. Asnotikar. Speaking to Shivakumar G. Malagi, a beaming tourism minister G.Janardhan Reddy would have none of it, claiming it was a collective victory for the party.

Excerpts:

Do you claim credit for the victory of Chittapur and Kollegal where only Reddy brothers campaigned brothers campaigned for the party and nowhere else this time?

Reddy: (Smiles) I cannot say it's a victory of any individual.
But, it's really a collective achievement to be shared right from the Chief Minister to the common worker.

How do you analyse the defeat of BJP in Ramanagara, Channapatna and Govindraj Nagar?

Reddy: We all agree that Ramanagara and Channapatna are strongholds of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda's family.I do not see a special reason for BJP candidates' defeat there, since Gowda clan put every effort to win those seats. But, I am sure JD(S) does not have any relevance outside Old Mysore region.Whereas in Govindraj Nagar, I do not want to analyse the defeat of minister V. Somanna, but certainly the party has improved its vote share in the constituency. In fact, more than the defeat of the BJP in three seats, the Congress has suffered a major setback in its traditional strongholds. In Kollegal and Chittapur, G.N. Nanjundaswamy and Valmiki Naik, relatively unknown candidates defeated Congress party. Hence, owning moral responsibility, Siddaramaiah must resign from the post of Leader of Opposition in Assembly.
He has proved that his leadership is a flop show and has lost the much-touted image of `backward community leader'.
"Reddy-engineered Operation Kamal proved a success, but CM Yeddyurappa-orchestrated Operation Kamal boomeranged on the BJP in elections": this is the opinion of your followers. Comment.
Reddy: (Smiles) There is nothing like that. First, I do not want to use the term `Operation Kamal.' The migration of legislators happened even during the regime of S.M.Krishna and H.D. Deve Gowda in the state. V.Somanna and C.P. Yogeshwar joined the BJP having accepted party ideology and leadership of B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Now, it is not fair to say that Operation Kamal boomeranged when they have both been defeated in elections, since there were 8-10 opposition legislators who joined the BJP and got re-elected in the byelection on BJP ticket last year.

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H.D. Kumaraswamy JD(S) : Despite the BJP abusing its money and muscle power, especially in Channapatna, we have won, showing that the JD(S) is unshakeable in this belt. On the other hand, people have yet again rejected the Congress, giving it just one seat. Unless its state unit changes its attitude, they face a tough future.

R.V. Deshpande, KPCC president : Our results were unexpected. We were aware of our difficulties in Channapatna and Ramanagara after the Lok Sabha polls, but Chittapur and Kollegal losses are a bad shock. There was total unity among party leaders, we did not lose because of our fault, but because the BJP misused its money and power.


D V Sadananda Gowda, BJP state president :BJP isn't satisfied, although Chittapur and Kollegal have come as bonuses. JD(S) snatched Channapatna with blackmail tactics.Elections there weren't fair. But we can't fathom the Govindraj Nagar loss -despite having put up a candidate who has contributed so much to its development.
Sadananda Gowda, BJP state president

KMF to reduce fodder price to rescue inflation hit dairy farmers

KMF to reduce fodder price to rescue inflation hit dairy farmers

By Shivakumar G Malagi/Aug 19

In Sridharagadde Primary Milk Producers Cooperative Association in Bellary, the association where Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd (KMF) chairman G Somashekhar Reddy having a primary membership, farmer Hanumanthappa gets Rs 15 a litre for the milk he produces, compared with Rs 13 last year.
The price of cattle feed he buys was Rs 940 per bundle of 100 kg now. It was Rs 870 a year ago. Inflation has helped the already high fodder prices shoot up, leaving milk farmers gasping.
"Today, a litre bottle of mineral water costs as much as milk. Unfortunately, we are earning next to nothing given the high cost of production," he says about the state's largest agricultural commodity that provides bread and butter to the around 24 lakh dairy farmers, most of them are landless agricultural labourers.
The Sridharagadde Association story repeats itself in every village cooperative milk unions. Narsimha, who supplies 120 litres milk to the Bellary-Raichur Coop Milk Producers' Union Ltd, says that the average price that he gets is Rs 14 to Rs 15. That price too, is dependent on the fat content, which in turn depends on the fodder.
According to him, husk, which cost Rs 700 a quintal a few months ago, is now priced at Rs 1,100, green feed has gone up to Rs 900 a quintal from Rs 700, blackgram thrash from 700 to Rs 800 and maize from Rs 700 to Rs 900 per quintal. These apart, the labourers are demanding Rs 2,500 to Rs 3000, a month compared with Rs 1,000 last year.
"The rising cattle-feed cost is making it difficult for us to sustain our dairy operations. We take loans or obtain advances from private dairies, which only pushes us into a trap," said Narsimha of Sangankal village.
Having seen the effect of rising cattle-feed cost on the milk production, newly elected Board of Directors of KMF has offered booster to `inflation-hit’ dairy farmers by reducing fodder prices up to Rs 500 per tonne which came close on the heels of state government’s recent intervention to cushion the dairy producers against inflation by raising the support prices marginally by Rs 2.
Newly elected KMF chairman G Somashekhar Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that slow climb in milk prices and the rising fodder prices are pinching the small and marginal farmers in the state, who own 75 per cent of the livestock. Fodder prices have shot up since 2000, thanks to exports and central excise duty on molasses, which is used to make fodder. The recent inflationary trends have only added to the woes.
KMF has set up four cattle-feed plants across the state and produces two varieties of cattle feed- one is regular and another is special fodder with added nutrition. Every month around 30,000 tonnes of cattlefeed is supplied to farmers on a ‘no profit, no loss' basis,” While the price of `special’ cattle feed being supplied by KMF to the farmers is 11 per kg, that sold by private players is Rs 13.50 per kg.
Mr Reddy stated that prices of `regular cattle feed’ was hiked to Rs 9,400 per tonne from Rs 8,700 and `special cattle feed’ went up to Rs 11,000 per tonne from Rs 9,600 previous year.
“The rising fodder prices sure to play spoiler with the target of KMF becoming No.1 milk federation in the country. Hence, the newly elected body of KMF decided to reduce cattle feed price that was hiked during H D Revanna regime by Rs 500 per tonne. Since, Federation has earned Rs 3.96 crore net profits previous year and this profit will be returned to farmers by reducing the fodder prices, even though production cost remains unchanged.”, he remarked.

Disclosing that new rates of cattle feed will come in force from August 21, he said, “in addition to state government’s support price of Rs 2 per litre, farmer will get Rs 50 paisa incentive for buying a kilo of cattle feed from the KMF totaling a minimum of Rs 15.50 earning to a litre of milk produced.”

`Raising contracts’ hoodwink mineral rule book in Bellary

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Aug 2/2009: Though the title `Mineral Raising Contract Agreement’ is termed illegal in the mineral rule book, it has become an unwritten rule came into effect of late in multi-billion worth Bellary iron ore mining business.
Highly placed industry sources told Deccan Chronicle that mining operation in as many as 44 mining leases of the 78 running mines in Bellary-Sandur-Hospet sector is being carried out under the raising contract agreement entered into with `powerful’ mine lords of Bellary.
Raising Contract is an agreement permitting a third person to carry out mining activity on behalf of the mining lease holder which is in violation of Rule 37, 37A and 46 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and contrary to the covenant of clause 17 and 18 of Part VII of the Mining Lease deed.

Despite of this, industry sources say that 44 mine lease holders have agreed for raising contract, in addition to this, eight lease holders are in negotiation stage to draw modalities of agreement.
“Of late, accepting Bellary mine lords raising contract offer has become unavoidable for mine owners in district, if I deny the offer, it is sure that I will not get permits from mines and geology department to transport ore and face a many departmental hurdles to operate mines. Instead of leaving mines abandoned, I thought it is better to give them on contract”, remarked a Sandur mine owner who accepted 40-60 agreement offer with Bellary mine lords.
Industry sources say that contract agreements have entered into either with profit sharing or ore purchasing (by mine lords only) module. However, powerful mine lords often insist for profit sharing module where actual lease holder has to agree for meagre 30 or 40 per cent, while mine lord will get lion share of 60 or 70 per cent. Of late, nearly 60 pe cent of the Bellary mining field has come under the controll of powerful Bellary mine lords.
In actual terms, it was not an agreement registered on record with Sub-Registrar Office and does not hold legal sanctity. It is a faith-based understanding entered into between two parties-mine lease holder and contractor. There fore, it is `practically difficult' for law enforcing agencies to initiate action against lease holder for violating Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
Despite this, Lokayukta in its report had referred 39 cases of “raising contracts” used for illegal mining including that of state-owned Mysore Minerals Ltd in region. Even, Senior IFS officer Dr. U.V. Singh, in his annexure to the Lokayukta report remarked that Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Karnataka ministers’ Mr Janardhana Reddy, Mr Karunakar Reddy and Mr Sriramulu has a mining lease in Andhra Pradesh, bordering Bellary district, has allegedly encroached into Karnataka by entering into a raising contract agreement with Hind Traders, a mining lessee on the Karnataka side.
Acting on the Lokayukta report, a senior officer of the Department of Mines and Geology, Bangalore said that department has issued show-cause notices to mining leases allegedly operating under raising contract, but could not take action due to the `absence of registered sub-lease documents'.

“Bellary mine lords explore an average of 1.50 lakh tonne iron ore valuing around Rs. 38 crores per day from the around 44 raising contract leases. Minus expenditure, tax, duty charges and lease holder share, they will get around Rs 15 crore profit income per day. Government must immediately find ways to act on mining leases operating under raising contract, since it nothing less than a multi-crore scam”, remarks a mine owner whose mine shut down for not accepting the Bellary mine lords offer.

India's First Private Sector Gold Mines in Karnataka

Twenty-four year Durgappa Harakeri, a BA dropout residing in Attikatti village in Gadag is no different from other lads of this impoverished north Karnataka region. He had many reasons to discontinue his studies. They include an irregular bus service, the need to support his ageing father and earn for his eightmember family besides paying back loans taken from the local money lender who helped the family after a crop loss.
He was set to migrate to Goa or Mumbai to work as a construction labourer this year like many other youth when the news came of a gold mine being set up in the village with a 3,000 strong population. What lies beneath the surface could turn out to be a bonanza for people of Attikatti including Durgappa.
"I have dropped my plan to move out of the village. The mining company has already hired me on daily wages to dig trenches in the mining area. I hope to get a confirmed job once the plant is set up," says Durgappa.
With Ramgad Minerals and Mining Pvt Ltd (RMMPL), a firm which is part of mining major Mineral Sales Private Ltd (MSPL) Group obtaining a license to mine gold ore in the reserved forest near Jellikatti village and proposing to set up a gold processing unit and tailing point near Attikatti village 20 km from Gadag town, there is a spurt in activity in the once sleepy villages of Attikatti-DoneeJelligeri and a couple of Lambani community hamlets in the belt.
The frequent visits of `camp sahebs' (RMMPL officials) in their flashy cars to the mining area and talk about the proposed gold plant have left local people with hopes of earning a livelihood when the gold plant is set up.
Attikatti villagers and the Lambani hamlet tribals are willing to part with their rain-fed agricultural land for the gold processing and tailing point but they insist that their conditions should be fulfilled.
The villagers are demanding from RMMPL what they did not get from elected governments till date. The demand list includes facilities for education, healthcare, sanitation, civic infrastructure, employment and ensuring that the environment is not affected and the people do not suffer health hazards due to mining.
RMMPL has already acquired around 80 acres of farming land, 40 acres each for the processing plant and the tailing point compensating each acre with Rs 1.85 lakh. But many of the farmers have used the compensation to pay back their loans and renovate their houses.They are now waiting for the daily wage jobs offered by the company and hope to get confirmed jobs once the plant is set up.
Except for a few, most of the remaining farmers belong to the scheduled castes and economically weaker sections. The youth are more than willing to part with their land to get a job in the gold factory, something the elders do not approve of. The elders have their reasons: bore wells dug in their farms are drying up and the situation may deteriorate when the company digs bore wells in the forests to get water for the plant.
62-year old Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani says he hopes for a better future for the next generation. "But there are some dangers associated with mining such as the use of cyanide. The company should ensure the safety of not only people but also livestock."

"We are convinced that the gold plant will improve our living standards. But our consent is strictly tied to some conditions. If the RMMPL overlook these conditions, we will launch a satyagraha opposing the plant." ---Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani Farmer of Attikatti

"I sacrificed my source of livelihood -- 10 acres of land -- to RMMPL to see my tiny village in the country's map as a producer of gold. I hope there is a golden age awaiting this backward region after the gold plant comes up." ---Halanagouda Basavanagouda Patil who handed over his 10-acre plot for the plant.

"Gold mining is a meticulous process and an expensive venture. But we still promise that the entire Gadag region will see prosperity and economic growth. Care will be taken to protect the environment".... B.L. Jain, vice-president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL

The discovery of gold ore deposits in and around Gadag is not a recent phenomenon. Kapatthgudda and Jelligeri hill range have always been rich with minerals such as gold, manganese and iron ore.
Smelling a fortune, local gold diggers are still searching for the precious metal using various means: during the rains, they place sieves in the water coming down the hills and collect grains of the precious metal which they sell to local goldsmiths. They also take up sub-surface mining wherever they strike gold veins.Local traders still go to villages in Shirahatti taluk to buy gold stone from the villagers.
Presently, the Karnataka governmentowned Hutti Gold Mines Ltd (HGML) with mining operations in Raichur district is the only gold producer in the country with proven gold ore reserves of 31.02 tonnes. The more famous Bharat Gold Mines Ltd (the Central-government owned agency located at Kolar Gold Fields), is now defunct.
RMMPL obtained a license for gold mining for the first time in the country ending the monopoly of public sector units over gold mining. Government has sanctioned 39.7 hectares to RMMPL in the reserved forest hill range near Jelligeri village and the company is awaiting clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests to begin mining and start its gold processing plant by 2010.
According to authorities, RMMPL is planning a 1,000 tonne per day mine near Jelligeri and a matching processing plant in nearby Attikatti. It has found economically viable deposits that have low grade gold ore of 2.4/2.5 gram per tonne which will be treated in the processing plant to get 1.9/2 gram per tonne after the recovery.
Allaying fears over the gold mining and processing plant, Mr B.L. Jain, vice president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL, in an interview with Deccan Chronicle, gave details of the company's plans. Excerpts.Mining has always threatened the environment. Your venture is another blow to the reserved forest in Gadag.First let me make it clear that we are not taking up mining in Kappatgudda hill range that has endangered flora and fauna. We are permitted to mine near Jelligeri reserve forest area that is 30 km away from Kapatgudda hill and also some distance away from Tungabhadra River. In fact, three environmental surveys have been done by reputed institutions covering a buffer zone of 10 km surrounding the mining area and processing plant and these reports have been submitted to MoEF for clearance.
After all, this is not a factory, there will be no chimneys, no smoke and the amount of dust will be minimal which will be managed by sprinkling water.
The use of cyanide in gold processing has sparked fear among the locals. How will you discharge it?Our plant will be most modern and will use the same process which has been adopted by Hatti Gold Mines. We will have a detoxication plant to recover gold.The cyanide content in the slurry will be .2 part per million that is much lower than the permissible limit. We will put bentonate and black cotton soil in the tailing point. The plant is designed on a zero discharge model where not a single drop of water will go out. After decantation, water will be circulated back to the plant.So people need not be concerned about the discharge of decanted water into the ground and its effect on the soil.How much production is expected from this mining venture?This is an experimental plant which is being set up at a cost of around Rs 60 crore. We have marginal deposits of 2.4 gram gold per tonne ore in this area. Initially we will go for open cast mining down to 40-60 metres and expect to extract 2.5 lakh tonne ore per year and later increase it to 3 lakh tonne. If the venture is found to be economical, we will go for underground mining.How will the plant benefit people?It will generate employment for 100 unskilled people and indirect employment for 300. In addition, we plan to adopt the village and provide all civic amenities to improve the social status of the villagers.