Mines & Geology dept suspends laterite mining on govt land in Belagundi

Belagavi: The Department of Mines and Geology has suspended the laterite mining on revenue department land in Survey No. 285 of Belagundi village in Belagavi taluk, following directions from its Secretary and Director in Bengaluru.According to a clarification issued by the Deputy Director of the department, a technical team conducted a spot inspection on April 17 and found that mining activity was being carried out on govt land. Acting on this finding, and pending a detailed report sought by the head office, operations in Survey No. 285 have been halted until further inspection.The release stated that a total of 223.1 acres across 13 survey numbers, including Survey No. 285, was originally leased to Belagavi Minerals in Dec 2003 for a period of 20 years. The lease was subsequently transferred to Malini Resources in 2023. In 2024, the lease tenure was extended to 50 years, with retrospective effect from 2003.Clarification says 13.39 acres of govt land within Survey No. 285 has been included in the approved map of the leased area. However, a no no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued by the revenue department for mining on this portion of the land, raising questions over the legality of the operations.The issue gained prominence after whistleblowers Rajkumar Topannavar and Sujit Mulgund flagged alleged illegal mining in Survey No. 285 on Wednesday. They accused officials from the mines & geology department, both in Bengaluru and Belagavi, of collusion with private entities, leading to significant losses to the govt exchequer.The whistleblowers have also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging that illegally extracted laterite ore from Karnataka was being transported to Gujarat via Maharashtra.