Illegal mining: Transport staff face the heat

The department has finally begun cracking the whip by identifying those officials whose names figure in the Lokayukta mining report serving show cause notices to them. The department has sought explanations from six regional transport officers, 54 inspectors of motor vehicles and three drivers.

Action will be initiated against these employees after the department receives reply to their show cause notices. The details of the action taken by the department have also been submitted to the K Jairaj Committee which studied the Lokayukta report. The Income Tax department had seized a pen drive from Kharapudi Mahesh, a benami mining operator for Janardhana Reddy. Mahesh had listed 617 names of goverment employees to whom he had reportedly paid bribes.

List gives clue
He had also mentioned the date when the bribe was paid to each Government employee who had helped them to carry on with illegal mining and transport ore. The same list forms a part of the Lokayukta report.

The Lokayukta report refers to the Transport department’s alleged involvement in the mining business of the Reddys in chapters 2, 3 and 28 totalling to 5,000 pages. While referring to the Belekeri port issue, the report says that 16,000 truck loads of ore belonging to various mining firms/lease holders had made it to the Belekeri port.

Overloading of trucks was rampant in Bellary and other districts en route to the ports. The Transport department is now cross-checking the trip sheet details of the trucks with that of the road laden weight permits.

The Lokayukta report states that JSW was also into overloading of trucks. The department will be checking the vehicle movement registers of the company to verify the facts, official sources said.

While it is obvious that many Transport department staff directly or indirectly helped the mining mafia, the department can take action only after it gets evidence against the tainted officials. The department has sought two more months to complete its investigation, sources said.