The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered iron ore mining in six leases in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district to be stopped due to a pending inter-state border survey.
The court’s forest bench, which is hearing cases on illegal mining, said mining operations and transportation of ore from the six leases should be suspended till further orders.
A bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam, K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar said a joint team should be constituted to conduct the border survey between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in Bellary district. The joint team can also work with Andhra Pradesh’s forest and mining department officials, said the court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) had recommended a joint survey of the border between the two states. CEC had suggested stopping mining operations till the survey was completed. The CEC also recommended that the Survey of India conduct a survey along the border.
Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS), a Dharwad-based activist group, had alleged that about 21 lakh tonnes of iron ore were illegally extracted from these six mining leases, including by the Obalapuram Mining Company, which is owned by jailed mining baron and politician Janardhana Reddy.
A CBI probe was ordered by the apex court against Reddy and his company, after CEC submitted that there was border transgressions by miners in the area.