Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, which is fighting against illegal mining has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who also holds the mining portfolio, to make use of the recent (September) Supreme Court order on an Interlocutory Application (IA) filed by SPS to initiate criminal proceedings mining companies categorised into ‘B’ and ‘C’ and other illegal miners.
Addressing press persons here on Monday, Founder President of SPS S.R. Hiremath said that despite the Supreme Court order on the illegal mining, the state government had failed to initiate action against the mining companies that had done mining out of their mining boundaries.
“What is more disturbing is that even the officials who were supposed to act against the encroachers over mining leases did little to initiate criminal proceedings. What was even puzzling was that while the apex court ordered for criminal prosecution of the illegal miners, they (mining companies) were able to get the Forest Offence Cases (FOCs) filed against by the forest department quashed in the high court of Karnataka”, he said.
Mr Hiremath said that several FOCs filed by the forest department for carrying out mining outside the mining leases were quashed by various courts on the reason that the issue had already been taken up by the apex court wherein criminal petitions had been allowed. “Considering the developments which would subvert the very course of justice, SPS through counsels Prashanth Bhushan, K.V. Dhananjay and Ramesh Mishra had filed an IA (No. 215) before the Forest Bench of the apex court. And the bench comprising of Justice J.S. Khehar, Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice A.K. Sikri in its order dated September 15, 2014 has ruled that the measures adopted by this court (apex), at no stage, should be considered to be indicative of the fact that prosecution shall not be initiated against those who had violated panel provisions of the law”, Mr Hiremath explained.
Mr Hiremath said that the apex court order had given strength to the state government especially the forest department to initiate criminal proceedings against those who did mining outside their mining leases. The joint survey regarding encroachments was done under the direction of the apex court appointed CEC and what was required now was the filing of the FOCs and pursuance of the already filed FOCs against the encroachers, he said.
He said that SPS and other organisations would urge the state government to expedite the process of acting against ‘B’ and ‘C’ category miners and also recover 1700 hectares of forest land encroached upon by illegal miners.
