Eshwarappa: Government turning a blind eye to sand mining

HUBBALLI: Opposition leader in the legisltive council K S Eshwarappa accused the state government of abetting illegal sand mining by turning a blind eye towards the problem.
Eshwarappa who was in the city to kickstart the party's membership drive on Monday, alleged that rampant illegal mining was going on in Mysore district right under the nose of chief minister Siddaramaiah, PWD minister H C Mahadevappa and revenue minister Srinivas Prasad.But they were just refusing act against it.
Fake permits are in circulation in Mysore district, Eshwarappa said. According to information sourced through RTI, 2,58,538 cubic feet of sand had been mined from two sand blocks at Horalahalli village in T Narasipura taluka in July 2013.
The government had issued 9,250 permits to transport this sand. ''If we take 7 cubic metre (one truck load) per permit, the government should have issued 36934 permits. It shows, 90 percent of sand has been illegally sold,'' Eshwarappa said.
Whenever opposition parties raise this question, the CM and the minister reject the charges claiming that there is no illegal mining. ''Now that I have given proof of fake permits, let the CM take action or else let him refer it to the CBI,'' Eshwarappa said. He also demanded that the state government file criminal case against food and civil supplies minister Dinesh Gundu Rao for allegedly encroaching upon government land.
''The charges against Gundu Rao has been proved. The government should immediately file a case against him and make him relinquish his ministry. The government has booked cases againt over 1,500 persons who had encroached upon government lands. Why not similar action againt Dinesh?,'' he asked.