The Department of Mines and Geology has suspended laterite mining operations on revenue department land in Survey No. 285 of Belagundi village in Belagavi taluk, following directives from its Secretary and Director in Bengaluru.
Spot Inspection Reveals Violation
According to a clarification issued by the Deputy Director of the department, a technical team conducted a spot inspection on April 17 and found that mining activity was being carried out on government land. Acting on this finding, and pending a detailed report sought by the head office, operations in Survey No. 285 have been halted until further inspection.
Lease History and Transfer
The release stated that a total of 223.1 acres across 13 survey numbers, including Survey No. 285, was originally leased to Belagavi Minerals in December 2003 for a period of 20 years. The lease was subsequently transferred to Malini Resources in 2023. In 2024, the lease tenure was extended to 50 years, with retrospective effect from 2003.
The clarification notes that 13.39 acres of government land within Survey No. 285 has been included in the approved map of the leased area. However, no no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued by the revenue department for mining on this portion of the land, raising questions over the legality of the operations.
Whistleblowers Flag Alleged Collusion
The issue gained prominence after whistleblowers Rajkumar Topannavar and Sujit Mulgund flagged alleged illegal mining in Survey No. 285 on Wednesday. They accused officials from the mines and geology department, both in Bengaluru and Belagavi, of collusion with private entities, leading to significant losses to the government exchequer.
The whistleblowers have also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging that illegally extracted laterite ore from Karnataka was being transported to Gujarat via Maharashtra. The department has assured that a thorough investigation will be conducted, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.
