Supreme Court questions CEC on Karnataka mining issues
Court asks Central Empowered Committee what happened to funds collected from sale proceeds of material confiscated from illegal iron-ore mining
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to furnish details of the implementation of its 2013 order on iron ore mining in Karnataka.
The apex court, on 18 April 2013, had laid down certain directions in relation to mining activities in Karnataka, which allowed some mines to resume functioning, while cancelling leases of several others.
A three-judge bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi, R.K. Agrawal and N.V. Ramana heard 39 miners who had filed review petitions against the 2013 ruling.
The court asked the CEC what had happened to the funds collected from the sale proceeds of material confiscated from illegal iron-ore mining. It also enquired as to how much money had been collected during this period.
The CEC told the court that nearly ₹ 8,000 crore had been collected, which was supposed to be transferred to a special purpose vehicle (SPV)—a body constituted to take mitigative steps in three Karnataka districts. But the same hadn’t happened yet. The CEC recommended that the same be disbursed and monitored by District Mineral Foundations.
The court, however, did not repose faith in the state government to utilize this money.
Earlier this year, the court had pulled up the Karnataka government for failing to assess mineral reserves in the state, even after two years of the court’s verdict.
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