Gowda for a special task force to probe illegal mining

In separate letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the former Prime Minister said the growing influence of mining mafia operating from Bellary poses a serious threat not only to the nation's economy but also its polity. "While the UPA government has promptly responded to the general problem by instituting a CoI, the scale at which in the Bellary District, the epicentre of illegal mining, these operations have created illegal wealth running into Rs 50,000 crores, renders the proposed investigative mechanism ineffective and totally inadequate to address this menace, which requires immediate, decisive and collective steps deploying host of agencies," he said.

He claimed that the proposed Commission of Inquiry would only serve to dilute the "excellent work" being carried out by the Lokayukta who is due to submit his second report. He suggested the immediate formation of a multi-agency special task force with highly competent officials drawn from CBI, Customs Department, Enforcement Directorate, NSA, and other such specialised agencies.

Gowda also asked them to force watchdog agencies like the Indian Bureau of Mines to act "as they have so far kept a blind eye or colluded with the mining mafia of Bellary".