The Bellary ‘gold fields’

The Bellary ‘gold fields’

Shivakumar G Malagi | TNN

Bellary: Post-2003, Bellary’s iron ore mines have turned into ‘gold fields’. Thanks to the mining boom and sky-rocketing prices, miners here extract an average of 40 million tonnes annually.

Whenever there is talk about Bellary mining barons, names of the Lad cousins Santosh and Anil, and the Reddy brothers crop up. But, the fact is they are new entrants here, while several bigwigs are in business from before Independence. H G Ranganagoud family of Hospet, Maharaja of Sandur M Y Gorphade’s family and the Singh family of Hospet are some major players.

In 1900, British geologist Bruce Forte announced that the Bellary-Hospet-Sandur region

had huge deposits of iron ore. The district has eastern plain forests over 97,017 hectares (as of 2005-06) and ‘legal’ mining of iron ore and manganese is carried out on 6,012 hectares, which mainly falls under forest land and smaller portions of revenue land. According to the department of mines and geology (minerals) (DMG), Hospet, as many as 88 mining leases are allotted in Sandur-Hospet range.

In 1964, the annual ore production from the region was 4 lakh tonnes and the same continued till 2000. The policy allowing miners to export ore directly, coupled with huge demand from China at unbelievable rates — more than Rs 2,000 from Rs 200 per tonne of 65+ fe content iron ore — turned iron ore mines into gold fields. According to DMG statistics, the region annually produced an average of 40 million tonnes of ore since 2003. In 2007-08, 18 million tonnes was exported and 20 million supplied to domestic market.

Environment: Several years of mining has had an adverse impact on the environment of the region. A government-commissioned study by National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 2003 revealed that the levels of heavy metals in water and dust-related particulate matter in air exceeded national health standards. According to the report, the region’s wildlife, which once included robust populations of sloth bears, leopards, monitor lizards and white storks — all threatened or endangered species — “is now observed to be very poor”.

Apart from affecting wildlife and agriculture, the mining dust has produced a “significant rise’’ in bronchitis and other respiratory infections. It is also responsible for a staggering incidence of eye problems, mainly conjunctivitis.

L H Shivashankar, a localite, recalls his childhood hunting foxes and deer in Sandur’s sandalwood forests and Billikallu forest which was declared Daroji Bear Sanctuary. “The hilly area once inspired great movie director Puttanna Kanagal to shoot classic Kannada movie Manasa Sarovara. Now we can’t even grow maize here,’’ he said.

Illegal mining: Legal miners admit illegal mining has become rampant over the past five years. They allege that DMG officers overlap maps of lease holders and this leads to disputes among owners. Following a direction from the district in-charge minister G Janardhan Reddy, a task force headed by deputy commissioner B Shivappa has started raids on patta lands, where illegal mining is done. Four lakh tonnes of iron ore dug out of patta lands illegally was recently seized.

Nationalization: As expected, legal miners oppose nationalization of mines. Former president of All India Mine Owners and Suppliers Association Hothur Abdul Wahab, who is in the business since the 1960s, said: “Nationalization of coal mining is a big example as it proved to be a wrong decision. Of all the deposits in the country, coal mining forms around 60 per cent. With the nationalization, production under NMDC and MMTC units has drastically come down and illegal mining has reached its peak