Sriramulu shifting stirs hornet’s nest | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-11-30

Sriramulu shifting stirs hornet’s nest | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-11-30

Fake mining permits to transport ore

By Shivakumar G Malagi

March 3, 2010 Bellary: Even as illegal min - ing is under investigation in the state, a Lokayukta team and the department of mines and geolo- gy, (DMG) have come across cases of trucks transporting ille- gally mined ore to ports using photostat copies of the dispatch permits issued by the depart- ment to mining companies.
The department has lodged police complaints against seven mining companies for using photostats of dispatch permits to transport the mined minerals.

The companies in question are the S V Srinivasulu Mining Company, PBS and Sons Min- ing Company, Adarsha Enter-

prises, Ashwath Narayan Singh Mining Company, Abubekar Mines, Sesa Goa and VESCO .
S P Raju, deputy director, department of mines and geolo- gy said trucks of these compa- nies were found transporting iron ore with xerox copies of the permits. According to offi- cials, four bulk fake permit books were recovered from one truck driver alone. The depart- ment of mines and geology issues permits in bulk to mining companies for transportation of minerals from their stockyards to the destinations they are intended for.

The mining firms have mean- while denied the charges lev- elled against them, and have not come forward to claim the truckloads seized by the depart- ment.
The racket was unearthed by a special squad of the Lokayukta headed by chief conservator of forests Dr U.V. Singh which came across the use of photost

copies of permits by mining companies to transport their mined minerals in the Bellary- Hospet-Sandur belt.
The Lokayukta team later conducted a raid on the Belek- eri port on February 20 and recovered eight gunny bags filled with photostat copies of the permits from three reputed Hospet-based transporting firms and booked cases against them, sources said.

It is alleged that some trans- porting companies also run units to print fake permits somewhere in the Hospet-Bel- lary belt to tranport the illegally mined iron ore to ports like Belekeri and that they are backed by a strong political lobby.

Chaganur villagers say they are against airport

By Shivakumar G Malagi

March 12, Bellary: Farmers of Cha ganur and Siriwar villages in Bellary taluk participated in a rally here on Friday to protest against the reported statement of district incharge minister G. Janardhan Reddy that farmers are willing to part with land for construction of the airport.
Mr Mallikarjun Reddy, advocate and convener of the Chaganur-Siriwar Neeravari Bhoomi Rakshana Horata Samiti, criticized the state government for not responding to problems of farmers. These have been highlighted through a series of agitations, but the government has not responded during the last 14 months.

Taking exception to the reported statement of Mr Janardhan Reddy that farmers who are all friends and relatives of his and health minister B. Sriramulu are ready to give up land for the airport, Mr Mallikarjun Reddy said “I have been inviting the Reddy brothers and the Government for an open debate on the issue.

Let them come out in the open and name farmers who have agreed to part with their land. Is Janardhan Reddy ready to resign from

minister's post and retire from active politics if he fails to prove his statement in the Assembly? Our stand is clear. We will not part with land, and we are ready to intensify the agitation if the Government fails to concede our demand,” he told reporters.
He urged Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to constitute a House panel to ascertain the ground reality and

obtain views of farmers rather than buckle under pressure from the district incharge minister on construction of the airport. Mr. Reddy said the Samiti had moved the court against acquisition of fertile land and made ministers Janardhan Reddy and Karunakara Reddy party in their individual capacity. The court had given an opportunity to the farmers to explain their plight.
Mr Reddy has taken exception to the deputy commissioner holding meetings with some groups of farmers to ascertain their views on the price fixed for land identified for airport.

SHRINKING HABITAT - Great Bustard census soon in Bellary

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Feb 23: Very first time, a census of Great Indian Bustards, thought to be extinct in Karnataka has been planned in Siruguppa taluk of district.

Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), a majestic bird was declared extinct in Karnataka in the year 1998. Later it was rediscovered in 2006 by naturalist Santosh Martin, president of Sloth Bear Foundation and Mr Abdul Samad, president of the Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWAN), Hospet after a search for 3 years and numerous expeditions amidst a semi- arid tract in Siruguppa taluk.

The arid and semi- arid grasslands in the interior of the taluk, are typical habitats of these birds and also that of Black Bucks. The Indian Bustard is a tall, long legged bird. The under parts and neck are white, there is a black crown on the forehead and the upper body is brown. The wings are marked in black, brown and grey .The birds are as large as 92cms to 122 cms and weigh around 12 kgs. As they are big in size they require substantial wild habitat to survive. These birds can breed at any time of the year, but it is usually initiated by the start of the rains and the annual rains are thus important for maintaining its numbers.


The GIBs are on the endangered 'red' list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The Indian Bustard is the most endangered of the Bustard family in the world and the total population in the world may not exceed 700 and of that about 490 birds exist in India.

Poaching and habitat deterioration are the two main causes for the drastic decline of the GIBs. Apart from Siruguppa, the Great Indian Bustards are also found in Gadag, Mundargi and Ranebennur. However, the birds have not been sighted in the past couple of years in these areas. Around 80 percent of the birds are found in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan and a small number of them in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra.

While, in Siruguppa, according to Santosh Martin, there are 8-10 birds exist. However, it remains to be seen whether birds that are regularly spotted at semi-arid grassland near Hatcholli and Kudadarhal villages succeeded to survive the recent flash floods or washed away since the entire villages on the bank of river Tungabhadra in Sirguppa taluk had been immersed for a week in flood waters and affected worst in September last year.

Hence, the proposed census of GIBs jointly organized by the Sloth Bear Foundation and Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWAN) assumes a great importance to confirm the presence of endangered species in region even after `fatal floods’.

Mr Martin told Deccan Chronicle that they are looking for about 20 genuine volunteers who are willing to rough it out in the scorching heat of Bellary which may go up to 45 degrees celcius at times of census tentatively fixed for first week of April.

“The idea is to have a minimum of 4 groups who travel in a group of 5 or 6 in a jeep with one local guide who has knowledge of the entire area and a GPS equipment. The entire GIB area which was covered so far will be divided into 4 areas, North, South, East and West and simultaneous survey will be carried out so that any possible overlap will be avoided and get clear picture on the number of GIBs exist in region”, he remarked.

Did top cop object to withdrawal of Reddy cases?

March 11, 2010, Bellary: The state Cabinet which decided to withdraw three criminal cases against ministers G. Janardhan Reddy and B Sriramulu last month, did so despite stiff opposition from the director general and inspector general of police and the law department, according to sources.
In one case, Mr Janardhan Reddy was acccused of demolishing the Suggalamma temple on the Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh border in the Bellary reserve forest area by a temple priest, and in another his company, OMC in Andhra Pradesh was charged with encroaching into Karnataka for mining. Mr Sriramulu faced accusations of threatening MP and Congress leader Anil H Lad during the 2008 assembly elections and damaging his property.
Sunil Kumar, secretary, home and internal security department, told the Cabinet in his confidential official note that the DG and IGP and director of prosecutions saw no reason to withdraw these cases against the two ministers, according to documents available with Deccan Chronicle .
“Permission has been sought to withdraw the intended prosecution of the accused on the ground of inadequacy of evidence. Paucity of evidence cannot be a ground to grant permission for withdrawal of prosecution. No case is made out that withdrawal of prosecution is necessary to promote public justice. The director of police has opposed the proposal for withdrawal of prosecution. Hence, permission for withdrawal of prosecution should not be granted,” Mr Kumar said in his note.
He also referred to a Central Election Commission letter objecting to withdrawal of cases pertaining to violation of the code of conduct in Bellary and other places. But the Cabinet decided to go ahead with withdrawing the cases anyway.
The Reddy Brothers have in the past too succeeded in getting around 13 pending cases against them withdrawn, including 10 cases of violation of the election code of conduct. The Cabinet had withdrawn three criminal suits against Mr Janardhan Reddy and Mr Sriramulu filed by then district conservator of forest Dr P. Rajashekharan for allegedly encroaching into the state's Sandur taluk for illegal mining.

Bellary Catholic Diocese fights Mining Mafia

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Feb 22, 2010, Bellary: A row has broken out between the church and the miners in Bellary with the Catholic Diocese claim- ing that iron ore is being illegally excavated from its property in Ramghad vil- lage, Sandur taluk.
On Monday, several nuns, priests and heads of the community took out a protest rally in the city ask- ing the government to pro- tect church property.

While Ranka International Pvt Ltd claims to have a license from the mines and geology department to mine on the church property, Msgr. Chowrappa Yerabo- bi, Vicar General of the Bel- lary Diocese says the own- ership of the 20 acres of iron ore rich land in Ramghad village can be traced in the revenue records to the Catholic Diocese of Bellary.

"The representatives of the company were extremely abusive and insulting when we questioned them," he said.
Further, he made it clear that politically strong people at the helm of affairs are hand in glove with the Company to encroach upon the Church property and carry out illegal mining
Bishop Henry D'Souza of the Catholic Diocese of Bel- lary wrote to Governor H.R.
Bhardwaj on February 2 about the mining on church property and the governor has since reportedly directed the principal secretary, com- merce and industries to act in the matter. However, so far no action has been taken.

When contacted, deputy commissioner B. Shivappa said he had received a call from the secretary to the CM about the mining on church land and promised to look into the matter.

Meanwhile, the mines and geology department says while no license has been given to the company to mine in the area, it is enti- tled to mine 4,500 metric tonnes from the grounds in question after winning the rights in an open auction held in 2006.

Pune blast: 4 Kashmiris detained in Hampi

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Feb 17, 2010:Four Kashmiri men were taken into cus- tody in Hampi on Wedn- esday in connection with Saturday's terror attack on German Bakery in Pune.
A police team from Pune, following specific clues in emails sent from IP addresses in Hampi, detained the four suspects who sources said sold arte- facts in Virapura Gadde Island in the Tungabhadra river. Investigating officials are looking for three other suspects in the heritage town that draws thousands of foreign tourists every year. In Virapura Gadde, where a franchise of German Bakery is located and from where the emails were sent, seven Internet cafés were shut down since Tuesday evening.

Fearing for their safety, many foreign tourists stay- ing in resorts on the island, a kilometre from Hampi by coracle, started moving to hotels in Hampi and Hospet after news spread of the suspects being taken into custody. Investigators believe that part of the Pune attack conspiracy could have been hatched in Hampi, sources said.

The Pune police team arrived in Hampi after car- rying out investigations in Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, the hometown of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal.

The Kashmiri community in Hampi has been under the scanner before, with the Bengaluru police arresting a suspected Kashmiri ter- rorist, Imran Jalal, in Hampi in January 2007.
Jalal established the now- defunct Kashmiri-Raja- sthani Handicrafts Shop Owners' Association that comprised over 35 Kashmiris.

Lokayukta `inaction' irks Janardhan Reddy

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Feb 17, 2010: Welcoming the Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of a court to order a CBI investi- gation into any issue with- out the consent of the state government concerned, tourism minister G. Janard- han Reddy said on Wednes- day he was confident for- mer chief minister H.D.
Kumaraswamy would no longer be able to evade pun- ishment for "accepting bribes from mining barons in Karnataka."
Expressing displeasure that the Lokayukta commit- tee which looked into illegal mining had made no men- tion of the charges against Mr Kumaraswamy, he said the former chief minister would not be able to escape the legal dragnet for much longer. The Supreme Court ver- dict, which came with a rider that courts should use their powers to order a CBI investigation cautiously and sparingly, was based on nine petitions seeking a CBI probe under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution into various cases. The peti- tioners had contended that the CBI could conduct investigation in any state without prior consent of the government concerned.

Mr Reddy's petition seek- ing a CBI probe against Mr Kumaraswamy for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 150 crore from mining barons was one of the petitions con- sidered by the apex court.
According to the minister, his petition against the Jana- ta Dal(S) leader will come up for hearing before a three-member panel of the Supreme Court in two weeks.

Mr Reddy, who was an MLC in 2006, had charged Mr Kumaraswamy, then heading a BJP-JD(S) coali- tion government in the state, with taking a Rs 150 crore bribe from the Bellary min- ing barons and demanded a proble by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter.

Instead the state govern- ment constituted the Justice U.L. Bhat Commission to probe the charges levelled by him. But the Bhat Com- mission later went on to seek the assistance of the CBI in its investigation.

In March 2007 the govern- ment decided to wind up the Bhat commission for its `failure' to submit an inter- im report within the two month deadline set.

Mr Reddy now alleges that Justice Bhat did not receive the cooperation he needed from the govern- ment when he needed CBI assistance to conduct his inquiry.

"Much to my surprise, the Lokayukta committee con- stituted after the Bhat Com- mission was wound up, has not even once referred to the Rs 150 crore bribery charge in its report and very intelli- gently misled the public," the minister said, adding that the Supreme Court's ruling would have far reaching ramifications and bring to book influential politicians.

BUMPY LANDING - Helicopters encounter air pockets in Bellary

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Feb 11/2010: What could be more telling than this about the high flying lifestyle of miners in iron ore rich Bellary? A temple in the town has put up `No Parking' signs on its grounds exclusively for helicopters and aircrafts.
The Sri Kumaraswamy temple in Nandihalli, some 12 km from the mining town of Sandur, has put up a sign saying "Landing of helicopters, aircraft not allowed."

Temple priest Suryanarayan Bhat says the board was erected in 2005 after mining baron turned Rajya Sabha MP Anil Lad landed in his newly bought Bell helicopter on the grounds of the temple to perform a pooja.

"The landing of the chopper with no sanction from the authorities angered temple trustee M.Y. Ghorpade, who ordered a ban on all aircraft arriving here," he said.

The signboard comes as no surprise to the people of Bellary, accustomed to seeing choppers landing in the backyards of palatial homes, farmhouses, resorts and even on rooftops of houses of rich mining barons.

A recent survey reported that around 17 private choppers and eight aircraft fly over Bellary everyday.
The district accounts for almost 10 per cent of the market for private flying machines.

Houses for Flood Victims: Reddys made tall promises fail to realise

Jan 21/2010

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Despite the Reddy brothers boast that mining barons of Bellary would build 50,000 houses for flood victims of north Karnataka, they have now come forward to build a mere 6580 houses in 18 villages of the district.
After months of dilly dallying eight iron ore mining companies of the district signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government on Wednesday to shift and rebuild 18 floodravaged villages in Bellary.Their contribution to the flood relief effort falls far short of what the Reddy brothers had promised a few months ago. They had announced that 50,000 houses would be built at a cost of Rs 1.15 lakh each under the Navagrama scheme for the flood-affected people of north Karnataka.
Signing the deal at district in-charge minister G Janardhan Reddy's homeoffice `Kuteeram' on Wednesday, only a handful of mine owners were present. And the 6,000-odd homes is a far cry from what is actually needed in the 16 villages in Siruguppa taluk and two villages in Hadagli taluk that must be relocated upstream from the river Tungabhadra.
Soon after the floods, on October 9, 2009, Mr.Reddy had said no government funds would be sought for housing schemes in district, while using his pro-active promise to rebuild to gain the upper hand over Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa during their failed putsch in November 2009.
The building of houses for flood victims had even become a prestige issue with the mining lords turned ministers during their fracas with the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. The ministers tried to steal a march over the government by laying the foundation stone for the Navagrama programme in Bellary, Gadag, Koppal and Raichur districts, before the the government could launch its rehabilitation project `Asare'.
But all this seems to have been for nothing. Sources said the Bellary ministers could not mobilize the funds required as many of the miners did not contribute as expected.
Sixteen villages of Siruguppa taluk and two in Hadagli taluk were severely affected by the floods in September last year. The revenue department had recommended the shifting of these floodprone villages from the bank of the river Tungabhadra to safer ground as a precaution.
Deputy commissioner B Shivappa told the Deccan Chronicle that the layout plan prepared by the government would be used as a model by the mining companies when rebuilding these villages. While the mining companies will contribute the Rs 1.15 lakh required to build each house, the road, underground drainage, drinking water and other civic amenities will be provided by the government.
When contacted, health minister B. Sriramulu maintained Mr Janardhan Reddy had delivered everything he had promised for the flood victims. "The MoU has been signed with mine owners for building houses not only in Bellary, but other flood affected districts of north Karnataka," he contended.