Illegal mining: Iron ore worth Rs 200 cr missing

A case of theft and breach of trust has now been filed by the Deputy Conservator of Forests,Karwar,against officials of the state-run Bellekeri Port and Customs authorities for allowing the seized material to be moved out without legal clearance.

The Karwar DCF has also sent a complaint to the Chief Vigilance Commissioner against the Customs authorities for allowing the export of the seized iron ore from the Bellekeri Port stockyard,Lok Ayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde revealed.

The seizure of the iron ore from the Bellekeri Port in February followed an investigation by the Lok Ayukta into a trail of iron ore laden trucks that moved with impunity between Bellary and various ports around the state on a daily basis without proper mining and transport permits.

The seizure at the Bellekeri Port was considered the biggest catch in investigations against the iron ore mining mafia in Karnataka. The Lok Ayukta also seized 40 gunny sacks of forged and fake documents that were used by transporters to bring iron ore to the port.

Examination of the permits and documents revealed that they were all forged or fake documents and that the iron ore was transported for export with no valid mining or forest permits and no royalties or forest development tax,Justice Santhosh Hegde said.

The Lok Ayukta investigations based on the documents seized at the Bellekeri Port revealed that some of the iron ore was transported using an Andhra Pradesh mining permit issued in the name of G V Narayan Reddy,identified as a mine owner in Kadapa district. The transport permits seized by the Lokayukta however contradicted the mining permits and stated that the iron ore was loaded at Hospet and Sandur in Bellary.