• Tough action against illegal mining activities
• Govt not to renewal the permit of the controversial Shivamogga unit
• Compensation for others to be announced soon
Bengaluru, February 2: Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani on Tuesday said that a fair investigation headed by Revenue department commissioner will be conducted into the Shivamogga blast case and tough action will be taken against the culprits. The minister made the statement in the legislative council.
Nirani was replying to the debate under Rule 68 in the upper house. He said case has been registered against stone crusher unit’s owner DV Sudhakar and land owner Kulkarni and the licence has been cancelled. He further added that 65,000 detonators, 1275 kg gelatins, 17500 meter safety fuse have been seized and order issued not to renew the licence of this unit.
The minister said grants of the approved land at the blast site have been cancelled and a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of 6 deceased distributed. The distribution of compensation delayed due to difficulty in identifying the bodies. Nirani added that total 137 cases related to unauthorised mining and transportation have been registered in Shivamogga during 2019-20 and Rs 67.95 lakh fine collected in 66 cases. Tough instruction has been issued to stone crusher contractors to compulsorily inform the jurisdiction police stations about the explosions in the units in advance.
“Crushed stone gravels, pebbles, M-sand, sand and other construction aggregates are essential for construction activities and development of the state and it is necessary to issue licences to crusher units as per the demand for such materials in the state”, Nirani said.
The minister stated that currently total 2,493 stone quarrying permits and licences for 1,682 crusher units have been issued in the state and 289 M-sand units running. The Mines and Geology department has collected Rs 3,629 crore revenue during 2019-20 and Rs 2,318 crore during 2020-21. The minister said there is an average 250 million metric tonne demand for stone gravels in the state. The state has earned revenue of Rs 1,486 crore from stone quarrying during 2019-20 and Rs 735.53 crore during 2020-21.
