The notification by the Karnataka government inviting applications for granting of mining leases from interested parties was quashed by the state high court, he pointed out.

The minister had held his former secretary Shantanu Consul responsible for “referring the matter back by raising irrelevant queries without appreciating facts on record.” He also accused Consul of referring the matter to the Cabinet secretary in “an incomplete file and with muddled facts.” He pooh-poohed the claims of NMDC for the said mine arguing that, “at no point of time NMDC applied for reservation of the said area earlier. In fact NMDC never approached me for this claim. Therefore there is no reason for NMDC to approach the Committee of Disputes. It may be advised to apply for fresh areas…”

The PMO had asked Ola to refrain from taking any decision in this connection till the completion of the Lok Sabha elections in May. It had pointed out that the then steel minister had sought that the interests of NMDC and Kudremukh Iron should not be ignored in the matter.