The Central Empower Committee in its latest report to the Supreme Court has rung alarming bells for iron ore rich Karnataka stating that if the Centre and the state governments failed to take immediate action to check the illegal mining the iron deposits in the state would dry up in the next 20 years and in the process its entire dense forest cover might also vanish.
Reeling out figures after figures on the volume of illegal excavation of iron ore, devastation caused to the forests and uprooting of local population, amicus curiae Shyam Diwan, told the green bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India that due to the massive increase in export to China, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asean countries during past decade, the extraction of iron ore in Karnataka increased from mere 12 lakh-tones per annum in 2001 to over 50 lakh tones now.
“But the annual excavation figure might even be higher as there is no exact data available for the actual amount of iron ore extracted by way of illegal mining,” he said.
In response to CJI’s specific query about the estimated iron ore deposits in Karnataka, Mr Diwan quoting from Indian Bureau of Mines data stated that it was estimated to be over 1,000 million tones.
“There are several expert reports, which stated that if the illegal mining continued in this manner, the annual excavation could cross over 100 lakh tones and the entire iron deposits in Karnataka may dry up in the next 20 years,” said Mr Diwan quoting from CEC report.
The Central Empower Committee’s findings were supported with the data of Lokayukta and reports of some other expert agencies cited by advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has filed a PIL on behalf of NGO, Samaj Parivartan Samudaya seeking total ban on illegal mining.