SC Approved Action Plan of Rs 24, 996 Cr to Restore Mining Affected Areas in K taka

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the Supreme Court has approved an action of Rs 24,996.71 crore to restore environment in 466 villages in four districts of Vijayanagar, Tumakuru, Chitradurga and Ballari affected by illegal mining in the State and out of which as many as 317 proposals have been approved for the works to begin at a cost of Rs 7634.96 crore.

Holding a review meeting in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said the restoration works would be carried out in the four affected districts under the Supreme Court appointed retired judge Sudharshan Reddy who will approve the proposals and supervise the implementation of the works in the affected villages.

At the meeting, Siddaramaiah directed respective Deputy Commissioners and district incharge ministers to prepare an action plan for further restoration of the environment and wanted officials concerned to set-up an engineering cell to facilitate early action plan preparation.

He wanted the officials concerned to make use of the action plan and develop the mining affected villages and asked the officials concerned to maintain quality in the execution of works.

The Chief Minister favoured amendment to the bylaw of the Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC) for effective implementation of the restoration works in the illegal mining affected villages.

In a direction to the officials concerned to initiate steps to dispose of about 2.7 million metric tonnes of ore confiscated from illegal mining in the past and the asked the officials concerned to dispose of the confiscated ore lying in the forest areas after taking legal opinion from legal experts.

He instructed the Ministers of Mines and Geology, Forests and Revenue must hold monthly meetings to resolve issues related to forest clearance and other permissions to mining companies through a single-window system.