Minister Narayana Gowda sees officials hand in illegal mining in KRS reservoir vicinity

Mandya: District in-charge minister Narayana Gowda on Tuesday blamed the negligence and involvement of officials for illegal mining activity in the vicinity of the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoir.

Chairing an official meeting on Tuesday, the minister said that the mining should be completely stopped near the dam. He said he would discuss the issue with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa soon.

Narayana Gowd said rock blasting would pose a threat to the safety of the reservoir. Officials should invoke the provisions banning mining near reservoirs and send a proposal to the State government for putting a halt to the activity in Baby betta, he said. "By banning mining we can save Baby betta and convert the same into a tourist attraction," he explained.

He called upon officials to make alternative arrangement for miners who have been granted mining licence in Baby betta. He came down heavily on officials for negligence and involvement in illegal rock mining.

"Officials feigning ignorance of any mining activity while villagers are raising a concer proves their involvement," he said and added 95 licenses have been given for mining in Mandya which is the highest compared to other districts in the State.

"But revenue in the form of royalty payment by mining lease holders in other districts runs into hundreds of crores, in Mandya it is very less," he said and warned of stern action against officials if royalty was not collected regularly.

He instructed them to open a helpline to obtain information on illegal mining activity and form a task force comprising mines & geology, police, forest, RTO, panchayat raj officials to check illegal mining. He ordered installation of GPS on trucks carrying stone.