SC panel urged to visit mining-hit areas, submit report in court

Founder-president of Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) S.R. Hiremath has urged the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee and the Central Empowered Committee to visit mining-affected areas in Ballari and Chitradurga districts and submit a report to the court before the next hearing of a public interest litigation petition on Thursday next.

Addressing a press conference in Hubballi on Firday, Mr. Hiremath said that SPS has written to Monitoring Committee chairman Deepak Sarmah and members seeking their visit to Bheemasamudra in Chitradurga district and Narasapur in Sandur taluk of Ballari district to assess the impact of mining.

Referring to iron ore production exceeding 40 million tonnes across the four districts of the Ballari region, Mr. Hiremath compared it with the illegal mining crisis of 2011.

He said that large-scale mining by corporate entities, including JSW Steel, Vedanta and the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), is now contributing to the problems being faced by local communities.

Mr. Hiremath cited a November 3, 2024 report by the Supreme Court-appointed Oversight Authority, headed by B. Sudarshan Reddy, which recommended an overall mining cap of 20 million tonnes for the four districts in the region.

He said that the report also flagged infrastructure deficiencies, including the lack of conveyor belts, and referred to pollution levels exceeding permissible limits by more than 60 times.

He said that residents of Bheemasamudra have been stopping iron ore-carrying lorries for more than 60 days in protest against the adverse impact of mining.

Mr. Hiremath said that governments are taking decisions in favour of the corporate mining companies. He called upon the petitioners, the amicus curiae and the two committees to coordinate their efforts and present an evidence-based assessment to the court.

He said that SPS has also filed a civil contempt petition against the Chief Secretary of Karnataka and two senior State government officials which is scheduled for hearing on Thursday next.

The issue of maximum permissible annual production from mines is also expected to come up before the court on the same day, he said.

Mr. Hiremath appealed to organisations and individuals to support the agitation by mining-affected groups, including the Gani-badhit Parisara Punaschetan Horata Samiti, Jana Sangram Parishath and Janandolan Maha Maitri.