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.  

ALL WASHED UP Flood threat to Hampi’s monuments SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI | DC BELLARY, AUG. 6  2013   The overflowing waters damage the historic structures each year Several monuments of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire, located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River are likely to be washed away by floods in the near future, owing to the chronic accumulation of silt and debris at Tungabhadra reservoir located near Hospet, 14km from Hampi.The storage capacity of the Tungabhadra dam reduced by 30 per cent due to the accumulation of debris . This year, owing to continuous heavy inflow into the reservoir, the dam soon reached its full capacity of 1,633 feet and was overflowing by the third week of July. This was wont to happen during the second week of August, when the crest gates were opened to release excess inflow into the river. Official sources at the reservoir say they are compelled to discharge water even after average spells of rain in the district, due to silt levels, which stand at about 30 tmc ft in the reservoir. The Purandara Mantapa is completely submerged again this year. The adjacent Rama and Lakshmana temple is also partially submerged. The bridge linking Kampli with Gangavathi was submerged for a few days, as were the temples and monuments in the fort area of Kampli, the erstwhile capital of preVijayanagar period King Gandugali Kumararama.Local residents say flood waters have affected the overall stability of the historic structures, the nature of the soil, caused cracks and changed the geographical features of the land on which the temples stand.The latter half of July saw an average inflow of about 1.2. lakh cusecs into the reservoir. The discharge was about 96,032 cusecs, through 28 of the dam’s crest gates. The dam has 33 crest gates in all. In addition to this, about 10,000 cusecs of water were being released through canals on either side of the reservoir. P.T. Parmeshwar Naik, Minister of State for Labour and district-incharge minister said that the storage capacity of the dam had come down by 30 per cent owing to accumulation of silt. A meeting convened recently by M.B. Patil, Minister for Major and Medium Irrigation, to discuss about removal of silt and construction of floodflow canal to recoup the legitimate share of the State going waste into the river, has appointed an expert committee to submit a detailed study within six months. “Steps will be taken based on the committee’s recommendations,” he said.

ASSEMBLY POLL 2013- Congmen keep away, Lad fights a lonely battle in Bellary city

Congmen keep away, Lad fights a lonely battle in Bellary city

DC | Shivakumar G. Malagi | 25th Apr 2013

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Congress candidate Anil Lad campaigning in Bellary.

Bellary: With hardly 10 days left for polling the Congress appears to have failed to douse the rebellion over its decision to field Rajya Sabha member, Anil H Lad from the Bellary city constituency as none of other seven unsuccessful contenders have come forward to campaign for him.

Lad,  who is canvassing with only his wife, Arti and  a small group of youth in tow, is clearly exasperated by the lack of cooperation from the local leaders.  Hitting out at the  "malicious campaign" being carried out against him by his  detractors in the party he claimed on Wednesday that they were trying to mislead voters to see him defeated in the elections.

"I have complained to  the party high command against these leaders spreading hateful and baseless rumours about me,”  he told reporters here, however refusing to elaborate who they were.

Acknowledging that some of his rivals who were denied the ticket to contest from the constituency and  25-odd Bellary City Municipal corporators were refusing to campaign for him, he  said he had tried to persuade them to reconsider, but they remained adamant.

“I have held talks with corporators and senior leaders of the party several times, but although they promised to campaign for me, they have not turned up so far. I am prepared to talk with them some more and smooth out any problems they may have with me, “ he added, maintaining that loyal Congressmen must work together to present the "gift" of the party's victory from Bellary to AICC chief, Sonia Gandhi.

Miners rush to Lad’s rescue

Rajya Sabha MP and Bellary City assembly constituency Congress candidate Anil H Lad appears to have been isolated in the party with no senior Congress leader in the district supporting him in the electioneering.

Former minister M.Diwakar Babu declared that he will not campaign for “mining mafia” candidate Mr Lad, while former MP K.C. Kondaiah has stayed away from the campaign after Mr Lad’s mining lease was cancelled by the Supreme Court for maximum illegalities. But his several friends and associates in the mining industry, have reportedly extended support to Mr Lad and are working all out to ensure his victory in the elections.

Another strong contender for the Congress ticket from Bellary city and mining industrialist Hothur Mohammed Iqbal too has been canvassing for Mr Lad.
Interestingly, he is the only unsuccessful aspirant among eight others who is supporting Mr Lad in the elections.

While campaigning with Mr Lad in Ranithota area on Monday, Mr Iqbal told Deccan Chronicle that as a loyal Congressman, he had decided to adhere to the decision of the Congress high command. He also said he was determined to ensure the overall development of Bellary city under a Congress government and end the “misrule” of the Reddy brothers.

“I am a staunch Congressman, I am not the kind of person to stay away from the party if I do not get a ticket”, he remarked.

Supreme Court allows fresh mining leases in ore-rich Bellary district- By Shivakumar G Malagi

2013 Assembly Polltime sees miners selling villas

Polltime sees miners selling villas

SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI .

BELLARY, APRIL 18





Villas, commercial complexes and apartments in upscale precincts in Bengaluru are being sold by cash-strapped mine barons to raise the moolah for next month's elections to the Legislative Assembly.Sources close to a mine owner said one of the candidates, already in debt, sold his property on the outskirts of Bengaluru for about `150 crore to meet the election expenditure.
Similarly, another mine baron and candidate put up two apartments in the city's central business district (CBD) for sale, while another put on the market his bar-cum-restaurant, also in the CBD.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a mine magnate and candidate said, “I have to maintain the aura of a mine baron and meet people's expectations despite the fact that there is no income of single
rupee since two years.Otherwise, people do not believe me.“ Besides, some political parties and candidates are turning to mining entrepreneurs to bankroll them in the polls.
Most of them, however, have returned emptyhanded as mine owners are wary of the vigil maintained by investigating agencies ever since the Supreme Court ordered a probe by CBI into illegal mining in
Karnataka.Some of the mine owners are finding it difficult to market their properties as buyers are worried that these buildings could be attached by the investigating agency probing illegal mining.
In a few other cases, buyers are quoting less than market value as they are aware of the fact that mine owners are in a hurry to mobilize resources ahead of the elections.





CM Jagadish Shettar an old friend, we talked politics: B. Sreeramulu

CM an old friend, we talked politics: B. Sreeramulu

DC | Shivakumar G. Malagi | 25th Mar 2013

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''I see a conspiracy hatched by national parties —Congress and BJP— in preparing the assembly election schedule...polling is scheduled for only one day on May 5. This is done with the intention of preventing regional parties from undertaking a full-fledged campaign''- Sreeramulu

People in Bellary, the iron ore mining capital, had accepted the political leadership of the Reddy mine barons and their close associate Boya Sreeramulu for almost a decade. But, in the recent elections to urban local bodies (ULBs) including the prestigious Bellary city corporation, they voted the Congress party to power in all ULBs in the district predicting a gloomy political future for the Reddy-Sreer­a­m­ulu founded Badava Shramika Raitha (BSR) Congress.

After his party’s dismal performance in the Bellary City Corporation polls, Valmiki strongman Sreeramulu took up the issue of evicting vendors and petty shopkeepers from foothpaths in Bellary, apparently for his party’s survival and staged a day and night dharna on the street. Strangely, instead of his political opponents, he targeted a bureaucrat—Bellary deputy commissioner Aditya Amlan Biswas— for his political revival. Police took him into preventive custody along with his supporters when he staged the dharna on a bustling road. Soon after his release from police custody,Sreeramulu spoke to Deccan Chronicle on various issues.  

Excerpts:

The assembly election have been announced. But it seems BSR Congress is not ready for the polls?

I have already received 4,000 applications seeking tickets for the assembly election. There is strong competition for the tickets. The process of screening applications has already been initiated by the BSR Congress Election Comm­ittee headed by former Ko­ppal MP K. Virupak­sh­appa. This committee will finalize candidates considering their winability, caste equations and other factors. I admit that my party suffered a jolt in the first ever election (ULB polls) it faced after its inception. But, this time we are prepared to fight the assembly elections.

Keeping the verdict of the ULB polls in mind, what kind of future do you foresee for your party?

As far as the forthcoming assembly election is concerned, I see a conspiracy hatched by national parties —Congress and BJP— in preparing the assembly election schedule. When you look at the schedules in the past, polling was held in two or three phases in Karnataka. But, in the 2013  election, polling is scheduled for only one day on May 5. This is done with the intention of preventing regional parties from undertaking a full-fledged campaign across the state and ensuring lesser time for regional party leaders to go on a campaign.

Both Congress and BJP have come to an understanding to scuttle the chances of a Third Front, comprising of regional parties from across the country coming to power at the Centre. Indeed, the Congress does not want to eradicate corruption which has been proved by the delay in enacting the Lokpal Bill. The  Congress headed UPA-II government is caught in a series of scams and is blatantly misusing the CBI to curb the rise of promising regional leaders.

This is proved in the case of Gali Janardhan Reddy in Karnataka and now, M.K. Stalin in Tamil Nadu. The CBI is no more an independent investigation agency, it has turned into the ‘Congr­ess Bureau of Investigation.’ Using the CBI, the Congress wants to ensure no prominent regional leader rises to prominence. But, in spite of everything, I see a bright future for my party after this assembly election.  

After the Bellary by-election in December 2011, you were described as a SC, ST and OBC leader. But what went wrong? It seems you failed to cash in on this image.

I understood that the Bellary by-election and ULB elections are fought on different parameters. But, I admit that I did not reach out to Bellary voters in the ULB elections as I went on a tour of the entire state to introduce my new party-BSR Congress— to the people. This might have upset Bellary voters and they voted against me. I will contact every voter in my hometown in the coming Assembly election and make good the loss suffered in terms of votes.

  

Do you feel the absence of Janardhan Reddy(former minister who is now in jail)? 

I feel the absence of my friend and mentor Janard­han Reddy to the extent of 90 per cent. Together, we would have formed a good combination.

But you are the mass leader. People should come to you whether Reddy is on your side or not.

No doubt, I am considered a mass leader. But, I candidly admit that a combination of a mass leader and a ‘master mind’ will yield better res­ults in politics. Jana­rdh­an Reddy is a master-strategist for me and in his abse­nce, we don’t have a good com­bination.

Do you think people are of the opinion that you and your supporters were high handed when you were in power? 

Everything looks nice and good when the party is growing. I too have felt that a section of people were angry with some of my supporters and were waiting for a chance to express their an­gu­ish. By voting against my party in the Corporation ele­ct­ions, they have expressed their anger. My die-hard supporters who parted ways with me ahead of the local body elections for various reasons, were the key reason for the victory of more than 15 Congress candidates. I am sure many of them will return to the party fold and put up a strong fight in the assembly elections.

But, the ULB polls prove urban educated voters are not backing you. 

I don’t think so. People of my caste (Valmiki) are numerically less and not politically decisive in Gadag and other northern districts. Even the pontiffs of various prominent Lingayat maths showered love and affection on me. I think people who speak in this way are jealous on me and unable to digest the the fact that a person from the lower strata of the society could become CM.  

There are strong indications that many of your party leaders want to go back to BJP. What is happening?

BJP was “zero” in Bellary district 15-years ago when Bellary was considered a fortress of the Congress. But, over 10-years, we worked hard to make Bellary a stronghold of the BJP pushing the Congress into a corner. I am not saying that no one is backing the BJP now, but we will make Bellary a bastion of the BSR Congress and push the BJP into oblivion.

Then, why did you hold a secret meeting with the chief minister?

I took an appointment with the CM to discuss  developmental works in Bellary.  I am not claiming that we did not talk about politics. Chief Minister Shettar was a good friend even before he became CM. As friends, we shared a lot of details on the current political scenario.

Will you align with BJP or KJP?

 We will have no alliance with any other party. We will fight elections in 224 assembly constituencies on our own strength.

How do you see the rise of the Congress in Bellary?

Congress  has not tasted victory in the district for the last 12 years.  I was told that the responsibility of ward campaigns was distributed among Congress leaders Diwakar Babu, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Hothur Mohammed Iqbal, Anil Lad and K.C. Kondaiah and they worked together for the candidates’ victory. I think their unity has yielded results. Janardhan Reddy is our supreme leader and we all work as per his instructions. In the end, I admit that BSR Congress was defeated in Bellary because of my irresponsibility and negligence in contacting voters properly. I take complete responsibility for my party’s defeat.