Fifty heads of mining firms under CBI scanner

MLA's dairy points at " SP payment"

Karnataka’s choultry in Tirumala faces hurdles

 07th Nov 2013

Bellary:  An ambitious project conceived by the Karnataka government to construct a 1,000-room guest house adjoining the Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh to provide accommodation to pilgrims from Karnataka, is likely to be put on the back burner following a resolution adopted by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Specified Authority that construction “is not desirable both from the security and aesthetic point of view”.

According to the resolution, there is a threat to the Tirumala temple from terrorists. “Hence, it may not be desirable to permit such a huge accommodation facility to be constructed by the Karnataka government as the TTD may find it difficult to adopt the same safety measures that are being  implemented for its guest houses/choultries”, the resolution said. 

Further, the Authority resolved that no new constructions be taken up at Tirumala, either by TTD or by private individuals for accommodation since the existing accommodation at Tirumala is more than sufficient to cater to people for whom Darshan facilities can be provided on a day. No state government has been allotted a site at Tirumala except Karnataka. TTD is allotting guest houses/choultries/VIP rooms on first cum first serve basis to visiting pilgrims from all over India and abroad. 

Then Chief Minister  B.S. Yeddyurappa and his cabinet colleagues had in February 2009, laid the foundation stone for the construction of three blocks in the Karnataka Choultry property adjacent to West Mada Street in Tirumala to provide better accommodation to pilgrims from the state at a cost of Rs 83 crore. As per the master plan, 500 general, 34 VIP, 12 VVIP rooms, 2 marriage halls, 2 restaurants and 16 commercial shops were to come up. 

The 7.5 acres of land of Karnataka Choultry become a bone of contention between the AP and Karnataka government after Karnataka stated that the land belonged to it and the AP government claimed that the land was taken over by them in 1958. The land was donated by the then Maharaja of Mysore and after the formation of Karnataka state, it became government property.

However, the land dispute was resolved after AP government accepted to lease the land  on a nominal rent of Rs1,116 per annum for a period of 50 years permitting TTD to take possession to the extent of 1.70 acres. But Andhra Pradesh High Court issued a stay against the construction after a local advocate filed a PIL stating that the high-rise building would obstruct the view of the temple. 

Former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa wrote a letter to AP Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on July 30, 2011 requesting him to direct the TTD to vacate the stay given by the court on the construction of the demolished blocks in Karnataka Choultry. But, till date the stay order has not been vacated.

CBI noose around Nirani, Reddy

Reddy's Uttam Galva link under CBI scanner

Belekeri: CBI quizzes police

S'pore, London: Where's Anand Singh?

Belekeri: CBI arrested Karwar MLA Satish Sail

Belekeri: CBI arrested Satish Sail 

DC | Shivakumar G. Malagi | 21st Sep 2013

Bellary: A day after arresting BSR Congress MLA from Kampli T.H. Suresh Babu; on Friday the Cen­tral Bureau of Investi­gation, Bengaluru branch probing the Belekeri port iron ore export scam has arrested Independent MLA from Karwar Satish Sail after summoning him for interrogation at its premises.

Sail is proprietor of Karwar-based M/s Shri Mallikarjun Shipping Company (SMSC) Pvt Ltd, which exp­o­rts iron ore and is the stevedore at Belekeri port.

Sources close to the probe told DC that SMSC exp­orted 7.23 lakh metric tones of illicit iron ore from Belekeri port from January 2009 to May 2010. Sail was the rebel Congress candidate in 2013 assembly polls and has re-joined Congress party after winning the elections as an independent.

Sources said that CBI teams have begun a hunt for former minister and Hospet BJP MLA B.S. Anand Singh and independent MLA from Kudligi B. Nagendra, neither of whom turned up for interrogation even after CBI sleuths issued a summons to them on Friday. They are reportedly absconding fearing their imminent arrest.

Vivek Hebbar, son of Yallapur Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar who operates M/s Dream Logistics Pvt Ltd is also said to be under the CBI scanner.

According to sources; Sail’s SMSC sourced illicit iron ore from M/s Vaishani Minerals of Anand Singh, M/s Eagle Traders and Logistics owned by Nagendra and M/s Janadevi Minerals owned by Suresh Babu.

Besides, as a stevedore he connived with illicit iron ore exporters and had been active part of the conspiracy hatched to steal and ex­port ill­icit iron ore, w­hich was seized by the Fo­rest department in March 2010.

According to sources Sail had been helpful to Anand Singh, Nagendra, jailed ore exporters M/s ILC Industries Ltd owner K Somashekhar, Suresh Babu, and other illicit ore traders from Hospet-Bellary region to facilitate illicit export of iron ore from Belekeri port either by bribing or threatening port officers and local police, forest and mines department officers.

Sail run his ore export business using fake permits.Sail connived with jailed former minister Janardhan Reddy to get back seized iron ore by submitting permits issued to some other mining companies in the writ petitions filed before High Court bench in his favour. In reality,Sail did not have any genuine business transactions with those mining companies.

Kampli MLA in judicial custody till Sept. 27

The CBI Special Court hearing the Illegal Mining case remanded MLA Suresh Babu of the BSR Congress party in judicial custody till September 27.

The MLA from Kampli constituency was arrested on Thursday evening by the CBI officials for alleged involvement in the illegal export of iron ore from Belekeri port in Karwar.

After his arrest, Babu was subjected to the mandatory medical tests and produced before the court on Friday morning. He is the nephew of BSR Congress founder and former minister B. Sreeramulu.

The alleged scam was exposed by former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, who had said 7.74 million tonnes of iron ore were illegally exported between 2006-2007 and 2010-11, causing huge loss to the exchequer.

1Like ·  · Unfollow Post · Promote · Share

Chargesheet nails Gali's mine loot

SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI | DC BELLARY, AUG. 7

 2013





The CBI investigating the illegal export of 50 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore from the Belekeri port of Karwar has named former minister, Gali Janardhan Reddy as the prime accused along with six others in its first chargesheet filed against the firm, M/s S B Logistics.Accusing the mining baron turned politician of misusing his position as Bellary districtincharge minister from June 9 to August 25, 2011 to obtain undue financial gain through illegal mining and transportation of iron ore from Belekeri and other ports, the CBI said he had supplied 6.05 lakh metric tonnes of illegal ore to M/s Eagle Traders and Logistics that Kudligi MLA, B Nagendra is a partner in and received Rs 198 crore in return.
“There are no records to show that he had taken any steps to curb illegal mining as per the proceedings of the District Task Force meetings. He is the major beneficiary of illegal mining that was carried out in Bellary district during the relevant period,” the chargesheet said, adding that the former minister had directed the now jailed forest
officers, S Muthaiah and Manoj Kumar Shukla to remove the checkposts at Halkundi on the AndhraKarnataka border to enable the illegal transportation of iron ore using fake Andhra Pradesh permits.He also ordered officials of the mines and geology and forest departments not to issue permits to mine owners who did not allow him to carry out illegal mining in their areas or stock illegal iron ore in their stockyards, the CBI claimed.
The chargesheet said that Mr Reddy had imposed a virtual ban on the renewal of mining leases by the authorities without his consent and allowed it only if the owners accepted his demands of sharing the extracted iron ore. The former minister is accused of blocking opportunities for mine owners to operate legally to compel them to succumb to his methods.





Associated Mining Company case: ED to attach Reddy assets SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAG I DC BELLARY, AUG. 8 2013   Enforcement directorate had filed FIR in June, suspects money laundering SR. Hiremath, petitioner in the illegal mining case has urged the ED to initiate measures immediately to attach the properties of Reddy in connection with the AMC case for causing Rs 480 crore losses As it happened in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case in Andhra Pradesh, the Directorate of Enforcement is expected to attach the properties of jailed mining baron and former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy in connection with the alleged money laundering of Associated Mining Company (AMC) owned by him.Highly placed sources said that the ED, Bengaluru wing had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) which was nothing but a FIR, last June to probe the money laundering acts of Janardhan Reddy and his associates in the iron ore mining business in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act(Fema).Sources said that ED authorities had obtained statements of Reddy’s accountants, statutory auditors and business partners, besides interrogating Reddy himself at Bengaluru central prison. The CBI had filed the chargesheet in the AMC case on May 30 last year estimating the loss to the exchequer at Rs 480 crore. The ED is expected to come out with a provisional attachment order in connection with AMC shortly soon after listing the immovable properties for attachment.However, sources said that there is not much immovable property owned by Reddy in the country to match his proceeds in the illegal mining business from 2006 to 2010. Most of the wealth earned by him is said to have been parked in tax-havens in overseas countries which the CBI is still investigating. Meanwhile, Mr S.R. Hiremath, petitioner in the illegal mining case in the Supreme Court, while addressing a press conference, urged the ED authorities to initiate measures immediately to attach the properties of Reddy in connection with the AMC case as he had caused losses to the tune of Rs 480 crores to the exchequer. Earlier, on December 4, 2012, Janardhan Reddy's shares worth Rs 884 crore were attached by the ED in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Defining the illegal excavation of 28 lakh metric tone ore from AGK Mines of OMC in Andhra Pradesh as the “ proceeds of crime” amounting to Rs 884.13 crore, the ED provisional attachment order stated that OMC owners invested this ill-gotten amount in the form of 88,41,30,000 shares in Brahmani Industries Limited (BIL) at Kadapa district in AP, having a face value of Rs 10 each, held by OMC and that had been provisionally attached.