Karnataka: Minister's kin involved in illegal quarrying?

Mysuru: The alleged illegal white stone quarrying on farmland belonging to Cooperation Minister H.S. Mahadevprasad’s son, Ganesh, in Belachalawadi  is only the tip of the iceberg, claims general secretary of the Chamarjnagar district committee of the Karnataka Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene,  Dr Guruprasad.

Having done a year- long study of mining in Chamarajnagar district, he claims that although the requisite permission for alienation and quarrying on two acres of  Mr Ganesh’s farmland has  not yet been granted, quarrying has gone here for the last two years.  

Even more damagingly, he alleges that  at least 11 quarries in Belachalavadi, Hirikaati, Kotekere and other places  owned by minister Mahadevprasad, his brother,  brother- in- law, and a few of his followers are operating without the required clearance. “ None of these quarries have O forms giving them final clearance. While two quarries in the names of Mr Mahadevprasad, and his brother, Nanjundprasad have B forms, the rest are still in the process of receiving clearance. In fact, in Belachalavaadi although  quarrying has been permitted only over two acres of  land owned by the minister, it is being carried out  over 30 acres. One of the quarries is on Gomala land, and  three others are encroaching on government land,” he claims.

In fact so rampant is illegal quarrying in Chamarajnagar, that although only 30 have permission to operate over 132 acres, it has 192  quarries operating over 900 acres, he says. “And blasting is carried out by all the quarries, even those which do not have permission for it,” he charges, adding that many of the quarries are also going deeper than they should,  contaminating the groundwater table.