Uday Veer Singh, who scripted the report that nailed the mining lobby in Karnataka, is a man used to taking on powerful opponents.
If it’s the iron ore mines in Bellary that are creating headlines now, four years ago it was granite quarrying in the ecologically sensitive Kanakapura region that caused a similar furore in Karnataka, resulting in a ban on the mining there. That’s not the only common thread, though — in the cast of characters too there is an overlap, one of them being Uday Veer Singh who took on the mining lobbies both in Kanakapura and in Bellary away from the limelight. The report of the chief conservator of forests was instrumental in halting the mining in Kanakapura, and it was this 599-page report submitted in a record two months that, Singh says, brought him to the attention of Lokayukta Santosh Hegde whose term ended this week.
The 1985-batch Indian Forest Service officer was one of those handpicked by Hegde to assist him in uncovering the extent of illegal mining and encroachment in the Bellary region, both in 2007 and again in 2010. “He met me in January 2007 and asked me if I would like to help with the investigation; I agreed readily,” says the reticent Singh who had to juggle this along with his regular responsibilities as the chief executive officer of Bangalore’s Lake Development Authority.
The additional duties for the Lokayukta meant working late into the night, extensive travelling to mines, warehouses and ports in Karnataka and neighbouring states and no holidays. “It was no life at all,” he says of the last one year. What compensated for it, apart from the satisfaction of a job well done, was the opportunity to work with Hegde. “It was fantastic. He gave me a free hand — one hardly gets that kind of liberty at work.” The local intelligence network was also excellent, he says.
While investigating, the first time around, those involved in the illegal mining treated his work as a minor irritant of sorts. “They were taking it very lightly,” says Singh. During his second stint for the Lokayukta, however, his family received some “visitors” who wanted to dissuade him from what he was doing. They left before he returned home. But then again, threats and attacks are not new for Singh. In February this year, he was attacked by a Congress corporator’s henchmen when he stopped a truck from dumping industrial effluents into one of the city’s lakes. “I stood in front of the lorry to stop it and then jumped inside and tried to pull out the ignition key; that’s when they started to manhandle me,” says Singh. The corporator was arrested, but only after intervention by Hegde. Singh had been attacked on other occasions too, such as when he tried to stop a gang from stealing eucalyptus trees and during the raid of an illegal mine in Chitradurga.
He is not particularly perturbed by such incidents but he admits his wife and son and daughter (neither of whom wished to join the forest service) are apprehensive, especially since he refuses to carry a cell phone. “I will retire without one,” declares the 54-year-old officer who views the mobile phone as a distraction and adds that he calls home from a booth if the need arises.
But before he retires, Singh, who holds a doctorate in zoology, says he would like to work more for wildlife. “Poaching, smuggling and the destruction of habitats are quite disturbing,” says the environmental crusader who is also planning to write a book on wildlife.