Mining scam: 15 lease holders may not face charges

The company,CBI investigations have found,sold or exported nearly 45 lakh tonnes of iron ore valued at over Rs 2,000 crore between 2008 and 2010,when Reddy was a minister in the BJP government,though its mines in Bellary had extracted only 40,000 tonnes. “Using laser technology the actual amount of iron ore mined by AMC at its own mining lease site has been leased and it has been found that it is only a small fraction of the total production shown by the company. The remainder has come from illegal sources,” the sources said.

Most of this illegal ore — 32.9 lakh tonnes valued at about Rs 1,700 crore — came from encroachments on a disputed and abandoned mining site called Dalmia Mines and some from the 15 mining leases forcibly taken over by Reddy’s mafia.

The CBI had been mulling whether to prosecute the 15 lease holders for “facilitating” illegal mining. “What we have found is that the lease holders who entered into contracts with the Janardhan Reddy group to outsource mining on their government-leased properties were coerced into doing so. In many cases they did not receive what was their promised share. It would be unfair to charge them as well in the illegal mining case,” the sources said.

The CBI began probing charges against Reddy’s firm after a September 2011 order from the Supreme Court.