Sand mining: House panel bypassed contentious issue?

Bengaluru: The House committee on Illegal sand mining is likely to complete its given task without touching upon the contentious issue of illegal sand mining as it has not been mentioned in the terms of reference of the panel by the state government!

The panel is making preparations to submit its final report to Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa before December, 2015. “We have held two meetings and another meeting will be held soon before submitting our findings. So far, we have not touched upon the issue of illegal sand mining raised by JD(S) and BJP members on the floor of the Assembly. We don't know whether we should go into that subject or not,” a member of the committee told DC on the condition of anonymity. Illegal mining had become a serious issue in Karnataka with the opposition leaders alleging the involvement of relatives of ministers in it. JD(S) Floor Leader H D Kumaraswamy had alleged the involvement of PWD Minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa's son in this business and also produced documents regarding illegal movement of sand from Karnataka to Kerala. This had prompted the government to constitute a House committee headed by former Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar who refused to accept the post. Subsequently, Tumakuru City MLA Dr S Rafeeq Ahmed was made the chairman of the panel.