Iron ore supply likely to be disrupted further in Karnataka if panel finds fault with these miners Supply of iron ore to steel mills in and around Karnataka might be disrupted further if the central empowered committee (CEC), appointed by the Supreme Court to probe alleged irregularities of nine mining companies, including Sesa Goa Ltd, finds fault with the firms. The forest bench of the apex court, hearing a fresh interlocutory application (IA) filed by the petitioner in illegal mining, Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS), a Dharwad, Karnataka-based non-government organisation, directed CEC on February 1 to initiate the probe and submit a report to it. Sesa Goa, a Vedanta group firm, has been classified under Category B mining leases and is still awaiting clearance by the apex court to restart mining operations. Its mining capacity has been fixed at 2.29 million tonnes (mt) per annum against the original sanction of six mt. The company’s mining lease has expired recently and its application for renewal is currently pending before the state government. Mining projects are classified, relating to social or environmental impacts, into Category A (significant impact), Category B (limited impact) and Category C (minimal or no impact). According to the petitioners, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), under the ministry of corporate affairs, had also pointed out serious illegalities, irregularities and criminalities committed by Sesa Goa in its report dated April 29, 2011. It is said to have caused a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer by way of illegal mining. Other eight mining companies facing the probe are Praveen Chandra Mine, Varalaxmi Mining Co, RBSSN, Deepchand Kishanlal, Matha Minerals, Latha Mining Co, Rama Rao Poal and Karnataka government-owned Mysore Minerals. SPS, in its 286-page IA filed before the Supreme Court, said these nine mining firms, some of which are in Category A, have illegally mined and sold over one mt each. The IA has also pointed out the colossal failure of the state government, including present mines and geology director, who even allowed Praveen Chandra Mine to restart operations though it had illegally extracted 1.37 mt of iron ore. Other mines included in Category A are Varalaxmi Mining Co and RBSSN. Matha Minerals and Latha Mining Co, which fall under Category C, sold off their iron ore much before the court ordered for auctioning their ore. Mysore Minerals, whose leases fall in both A and B Categories, has caused a loss of over Rs 600 crore to the state exchequer, the petitioners said. “The total iron ore extracted illegally and sold by all nine mines is in excess of eight mt valued over Rs 3,000 crore. We have appealed to the SC to issue direction for recovery of this ill-gotten wealth from these mining firms and also cancel their mining leases for committing the fraud and initiate criminal proceedings against each one of them,” Vishnu Kamath and S R Hiremath, joint petitioners in the public interest litigation, told Business Standard. The petitioners have also highlighted that Deepchand Kishanlal conducted mining illegally even after its lease expired in 1994 and it was not renewed. The company extracted and sold 1.45 mt of iron ore till January 2007. They have requested the monitoring committee, appointed by the SC, to conduct an inquiry into such other questionable mines, which have indulged in serious illegal mining. They have appealed for transfer of the mines from Category A to Category C, especially Praveen Chandra Mine with immediate effect as it was given permission for resuming mining operations recently.