Bengaluru: Janata Dal (Secular) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday charged that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had indulged in rampant illegal mining activities with more than Rs 5,000 crore worth iron ore being illegally lifted and transported by the state-owned Mysore Minerals Ltd (MML) between 2014 and 2017.
Addressing the media in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said that an internal inquiry by senior officers of the department of Mines and Geology had revealed that 60,56,440 MT of ore had been illegally lifted and sold by MML.
He said, MML had entered into a three-year agreement with Subbarayanahalli Iron Ore Mines and Thimmappanagudi Iron Ore Mines, to mine ore in Sandur taluk in Ballari district from November 27, 2014 to March 31, 2017.
Contracts had also been awarded to S S Muchandi (excavation); Amit Earth Movers (drilling); Vishal Enterprises (crushing/screening); and South West Mining Ltd, Kumaraswamy alleged.
The former CM said that as per the committee report dated April 27, 2017, Rs 2,062 crore worth ore was illegally lifted and transported within the state between 2014 and 2015 itself.
MML officials had swindled money by tampering with the records of the production register book.
Officials had shown records of less quantity of ore being mined, where the quantum of ore excavated was much higher, he said.
