Ballari: All six Congress MLAs from Ballari are believed to be vying for the coveted post of Minister in charge of the ore rich district allegedly encouraged by the Rs 13,000 crore allocated for the restoration of its mining ravaged areas.
The funds are lying with the Supreme Court constituted special purpose vehicle, the Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC) which is expected to mitigate the damage caused to the local community and environment by the reckless illegal mining of the past decade.
The state government is also expected to implement its Rs 21,000 crore action plan for the district in line with the Comprehensive Environment Plan for the Mining Impact Zone once it is approved by the Supreme Court. "Once the court approves the plan, there will be a huge flow of funds for rehabilitation work in the district, " observes a senior KMERC officer.
Noting that the Minister in charge of the district will have a huge say on how this mining fund is spent, a senior Congress leader claims this has made the post very inviting for all his party MLAs from Ballari, and they are lobbying hard for it.
With none of the six Congress MLAs from the district being successful in getting a Cabinet berth in the Congress-JDS coalition government so far, senior leader , D K Shivakumar is presently in charge of the district. His brief, among other things, is to stop the BJP, particularly the Reddy brothers, from poaching Congress MLAs from Ballari.
But now that the Jarakiholi brothers have demanded Mr Shivakumar’s removal and a cabinet berth for Ballari rural Congress MLA, B Nagendra as part of their deal to give up their rebellion, the post is drawing many contenders. Mr Nagendra who quit the BJP with Hosapete MLA , BS Anand Singh and joined the Congress ahead of the 2018 assembly polls, is believed to have the backing of Jarakiholi brothers. But this is not stopping the other MLAs from the district, Anand Singh, E Tukaram, Bhima Naik, and PT Parameeshwar Naik also lobbying for it, say sources.
