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     Diviseema Side Hero Username: Diviseema Post Number: 2553 Registered: 02-2008 Posted From: 59.163.89.119 Rating: N/A |
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| Rayalseematelugodu Junior Artist Username: Rayalseematelugodu Post Number: 943 Registered: 08-2008 Posted From: 115.184.201.178 Rating: N/A |
{Congress leaders in Karnataka were relieved when YSR died in a copter crash}  | ||
| Rayalseematelugodu Junior Artist Username: Rayalseematelugodu Post Number: 942 Registered: 08-2008 Posted From: 115.184.201.178 Rating: N/A |
That explains why some Congress leaders in Karnataka were relieved when YSR died in a copter crash. âGod has a way of bringing people down to earth. One cannot fly too high for long,ââ a Congress leader told THE WEEK. The Complete story: "Rape of Bellary" INVESTIGATION Mining lords redraw Karnataka-Andhra border, drain government By N. Bhanutej/Bellary Burrowed and battered by mining barons, a stretch of Karnatakaâs border with Andhra Pradesh has been all but erased. Neither political parties, nor protests by citizens, nor the Lok Ayukta report on illegal mining in the region, nor High Court directives have stopped the violations in two places along the border in Karnatakaâs Bellary district. The BJP government sits tight. After all, the violators, Bellaryâs âmining lordsâ, who are ministers in the government, had funded the BJPâs first Assembly poll victory in south India. Mining companies hold mining leases on either side of the iron ore-rich Karnataka-Andhra border. The Sugalamma hillock in Andhra Pradesh and Thimmappanagudda hillock in Karnataka, situated around 5km apart, have rich iron ore deposits. The M/S Obalapuram Mining Company Private Limited (OMC), owned by Karnataka Infrastructure and Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy, has three mines on the Andhra sideâtwo in Obalapuram village near the border, adjacent to the Sugalamma hillock, and one in Malpanagudi village, near the Thimmappanagudda hillock. Documents with THE WEEK show that the OMC has encroached upon mines in Karnataka. Conservator of forests Dr U.V. Singhâwho had surveyed these areas in 2006 and during the Lok Ayukta inquiry in 2008âconfirmed the border violation. Keeping the Bellary Reserve Forest map as a reference point, he explained how OMC ravaged the inter-state border by creating a network of roads to link with the mine pit-heads of M/s Hind Traders, a mine on the Karnataka side, in which the OMC has a âraising contractâ. The roads were used to transport iron ore. The OMC removed markings of survey points, as shown on the Bellary Reserve Forest map. The Lok Ayukta report says that GTS (Great Trigonometrical Survey) points at Sugalamma hillock and Thimmappanagudda hillock were destroyed by the OMC during mining. The OMC also erased the trijunction points between Karnatakaâs Tumti and Vitlapura villages and Malpangudi village in Andhra. In effect, the company has moved 0.5km into Karnataka near the Thimmappanagudda hillock. As there has been no conclusive survey of the border in the Bellary Forest Reserve after the Reorganisation of States, it remains a disputed area. This worked in the favour of Janardhana Reddy, who is Bellary district in-charge minister and has powerful connections in Andhra Pradesh. Using his political clout, he extended OMCâs boundary into mines in Karnataka. Many mine owners succumbed to his might. But two mine owners in KarnatakaâS.K. Modi of Bellary Iron Ore, whose mines were encroached on the border near the Sugalamma hillock, and Tapal Narayana Reddy, whose Tumti Mines were encroached at Thimmappanagudda hillockâapproached the court. It was the last resort. Earlier, when the Bellary deputy conservator of forests had issued notices to Janardhana Reddy in June and July 2007, following complaints from Narayana Reddy, the former had refused to produce his mining lease documents and the sketch of the mining area. Janardhana Reddy had questioned the jurisdiction of the deputy conservator of forests, claiming that âthe interstate boundary line was laid down on the ground by the joint inspection team, in 1991, consisting of the representatives of Survey and Land Records of both the states, i.e., Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.ââ However, no such document exists. Neither the forest department nor the mines and geology department in Andhra Pradesh could produce proof of a survey in 1991. Janardhana Reddyâs mining lease in Malpanagudi, issued by the Andhra Pradesh industries and commerce department, a copy of which is with THE WEEK, shows that no matter which way the sketch is superimposed on the Bellary Reserve map, the OMC clearly encroaches into Karnataka. In fact, what started as a property dispute sparked by the greed for the big money in iron ore mining is a border row between the two states. In a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court, Narayana Reddy had alleged encroachment of his area by OMC. In April, the court directed the regional director of mines, Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), director general of Survey of India, and controller of mines (south zone) to depute officers to survey the areas leased out to Narayana Reddy and Janardhana Reddy. But when IBM set out to carry out the court directive, it met with non-cooperation from the Andhra side. The action-taken report filed by IBM regional controller of mines Ivan Khess and controller of mines (south zone) Dr B.P. Sinha before the Karnataka High Court in June 2009 stated that the survey was carried out between May 16 and May 18, 2009. However, contrary to the courtâs instructions, the surveyor from the Andhra Pradesh Geospatial Data Centre (APGDC), Survey of India, took part in the survey only as an âobserverââ. Besides, while Tumti mine was surveyed, the area leased to OMC was not, as the Andhra side did not provide any documents to the survey team. âThis is the respect Janardhana Reddy shows to a High Court order. It is shocking that the other departments, too, violated the High Court direction, succumbing to his pressure,ââ said Tapal Ganesh, son of Narayana Reddy. In effect, though Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa holds the portfolios of forest, and mines and geology in Karnataka, Janardhana Reddy has shown that in Bellary he is more powerful than the chief minister. Janardhana Reddy was unavailable for comments. Officials in Bellary are tight-lipped about the violations. âOur hands are tied,â said an official. Another said, âWe wish to continue to live. So please donât ask us these questions.â The Reddy ârajâ extends well into Andhra Pradesh, where he is investing in a Rs 2,000-crore steel plant in Kadapa district, in partnership with Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the late chief minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy. Janardhana Reddyâs expansionist designs are aided by officials in Andhra Pradesh. In April, Bellary Iron Ore owner Modi approached the Supreme Court alleging violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act by Andhra forest department officials in connivance with OMC, which has two mining leases near Bellary Iron Ore. Modi sought a field survey in five mines around the Sugalamma hillock. The court has fixed October 5 as the deadline for the survey report. But officials who have to conduct the survey fear for their lives. A letter in possession of THE WEEK proves this. Dated July 24, 2009, the letter from APGDC director Swarna Subba Rao to the Union home secretary seeks CRPF protection during the survey. âWe perceive serious threat to our men and equipment during the work and the security cover of local state will be inadequate,ââ it says. Leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council, V.S. Ugrappa told THE WEEK that he, too, had received threat calls on the eve of his visit to Bellary on a fact-finding survey of the disputed areas in November 2008. The district Congress in Bellary has been browbeaten into silence. Party leaders like Diwakar Babu who resisted the violations have been implicated in court cases. Former MP K.C. Kondaiah told THE WEEK, âThere is no law and order in Bellary. We are all helpless because nobody can match their [Reddysâ] wealth.â Even major industrialists in Bellary feel threatened. Minerals Sales Private Limited (MSPL), one of the largest private sector iron ore mining companies in India, is helpless as two smaller mine owners adjoining their property âsteal our oreâ. âOnly mines that have submitted to them [Reddy brothers] are being allowed to work. They are encouraged to encroach on neighbouring mines. Those of us who are not willing to give up our legal right are not allowed to work. We are not getting permits though all our papers are right. My mines have been lying idle for months, and they are looting my ore even as we speak,â said MSPL executive director Rahul N. Baldota. Yeddyurappa is indebted to the Bellary barons, who control at least 30 legislators in the Assembly. The Karnataka Congress could say little because the partyâs chief minister in Andhra Pradesh, the late Y.S.R. Reddy, was backing the Reddy brothers. That explains why some Congress leaders in Karnataka were relieved when YSR died in a copter crash. âGod has a way of bringing people down to earth. One cannot fly too high for long,ââ a Congress leader told THE WEEK. As we stand on the Hagari bridge on the Bellary-Anantapur highway, thousands of trucks with âzero materialâââcode word for illegal oreâroll towards ports in Andhra Pradesh. With international prices of ore climbing to Rs 2,000 per tonne, business is brisk. And Bellaryâreeling in poverty, unemployment, low literacy, high infant mortality and water scarcityâcontinues to be ravaged by a band of ruthless miners. http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/e p/theWeekSection.do?programId=1073754900&BV_ID=@@@ |
