Bellary a hotbed of iron-ore politics

ILLEGAL MINING IN BELLARY PART-VI

The opening of iron ore exports to the private sector in 1999 and the subsequent rise in global iron ore prices have spawned illegal mining and created huge wealth in Bellary district of Karnataka and turned it into a battleground for political parties.

Bellary was considered a Congress bastion until 2004, when the party lost the Assembly elections and allied with the JD(S) to form a government. The power tussle began after that government fell and the JD(S) joined hands with the BJP to form the current government.

This coalition turned the heat on mine-owners loyal to the Congress and sought undue favours from them, according to local political sources. This attempt to alter equations has gone haywire, with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy being accused by a mine-owner of taking bribes.

The first mine-owner to rebel was ruling coalition partner BJP's Janardhan Reddy. Kumaraswamy's decision to transfer the district Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Thakur "" who was investigating the illegal mining cases "" and replace him with Srinivas from the Vokkaliga community to which the chief minister belongs, prompted Reddy to accuse Kumaraswamy of transferring the SP at the behest of those involved in illegal mining in return for Rs 150 crore.

As Reddy has not been able to back his charges with evidence, Kumaraswamy and the coalition are in no danger. Both Kumaraswamy and Reddy have taken the battle to the legal arena, and Reddy has been suspended from the BJP.

But few believe that the story is over. Former chief minister Veerappa Moily said, "this government was born in Bellary and it will die in Bellary."

The latest in the episode is a video clip that surfaced yesterday, showing Forest and Environment Minister C Chennigappa talking about accepting a bribe and passing some of it to the chief minister.

Reddy may be able to really hit Kumaraswamy through his substantial allegations against HD Ramesh, the chief minister's brother, supported by copies of bank statements.

Ramesh owns a mineral trading firm (BSK Trading) and a transport company that ferries iron ore from Bellary to ports in Mangalore and Karwar. Reddy has accused Ramesh of forcing mine-owners to route iron ore sales through BSK Trading. Substantial sums of money have passed through the accounts of this firm ever since Kumarasawamy became chief minister.

It is a well accepted fact that the mining lobby has been "funding" the parties in power, as many politicians are either iron ore traders or mine owners. The list is endless: NR Suryanarayana Reddy, Santosh Lad (both JD-S legislators), Anil Lad (BJP legislator), HR Gaviyappa (legislator-associate member of Congress) and former Congress ministers Allum Veerabhadrappa and MY Ghorpade own mining firms or are partners.

MP Ravindra, son of Karnataka Home Minister MP Prakash, owns a couple of iron ore crushing units. BJP legislator Reddy owns a mine in Obalapuram, the "no man's land" on Karnataka's border with Andhra Pradesh.

The JD(S) move to control Bellary's mine owners has backfired in many ways. Today, Santosh Lad of VS Lad & Sons, a big iron ore mining company, who played a pivotal role in forming the JD(S)-BJP coalition government, does not see eye to eye with the chief minister.

As a leading mine owner sums it up: "The mining lobby commenced political funding in 2000. Some mine-owners took a plunge into politics to protect our interests. But the JD(S), in its aggressive mode, harmed the interests of its own partymen who are into mining."