HC orders survey of mining area in Bellary district

21-04-09 The High Court on Monday directed the Indian Bureau of Mines and Survey of India to survey the alleged encroachment of mining land at Tumti village on the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh border.

The court directed the two departments to conduct the survey in the presence of the officials concerned from both the States and submit a report by June 8.

Narayana Reddy, a mine owner, had filed a writ petition stating that a Minister from Karnataka had encroached upon his mining land in Karnataka by removing the milestone located on the border of both the States after obtaining a mining lease from Andhra Pradesh in the name of Obalapuram Mining Company.

Out of the 40 acres of land leased to Reddy by the Karnataka government, nearly 15 hectares is in dispute. The court had directed him not to transport the iron ore mined in that land till the dispute was resolved.

Reddy then filed a petition in the HC and requested the court to allow him to mine in the undisputed area.

A division bench of the High Court, consisting of Chief Justice PD Dinakaran and Justice VG Sabahit, allowed the petition and directed the regional directors of Indian Bureau of Mines and Survey of India to conduct a survey of the land.

The court also directed the Forest Department and Department of Mines and Geology to identify the undisputed land.

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