Bengaluru, Aug 8: An approval to grant mining lease in favour of Shree Sai Venkateshwara Minerals (SSVM) allegedly in contravention of rules in 2007 has come back to haunt former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. On August 5, after interrogating him for nearly two hours, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing illegal mining cases in Karnataka arrested Kumaraswamy.
The arrest was based on Lokayukta Santosh Hegde's report in which it was observed how SSVM's application was processed from the office of additional secretary to Commerce and Industries Secretary to CM's office all on a single day: October 5, 2007.
The SIT had recently sent out its second summons to Kumaraswamy asking him to appear for hearing on or before August 5. Anticipating arrest, he approached the court and obtained interim anticipatory bail. When contacted, SIT chief and inspector general of police C S R Charan Reddy confirmed Kumaraswamy's arrest to Bangalore Mirror. "HDK was released on bail on a Rs 5-lakh surety bond," Reddy said.
During interrogation, Kumaraswamy reportedly told the officers that it was "in good faith'' that he had signed on the file and had not gone into the previous notings put up by the mines and geology department officials.
Former Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining in Karnataka released in 2011 had a separate chapter on the mining lease given in favour of Shree Sai Venkateshwara Minerals for an area of 550 acre in Sandur taluk and how the administration including the then chief minister HDK had violated rules to favour this firm.
While going on to explain the acts of omission and commission at various stages and how the file moved up and got different approvals on a single day, the report stated: "The application was made to grant iron ore mining lease for an area of 550 acres in Sandur Taluk, Bellary District. It is to be noted that the proposed area was a surrendered area; out of the mining lease granted to Chaugle and Company and the area also overlaps with the proposal of VISL to an extent of 140 hectares. The application was received in the office of Director of Mines and Geology, Bangalore, on April 17, 2006. As per the records of the director, there were other 29 applications for the same area for different extent of land.''
"A note was put up and then placed before the Additional Secretary on October 5, 2007 and on the same day, the file was moved to the Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department. After attending the file, Secretary (Mines) submitted the file to Secretary to Chief Minister. On the very day, 5/10/2007, he placed the same before the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister, as per the noting at para 16, approved the proposal: "I have perused the records. The Mining Lease in respect of 550 acres of land in Jog, Thimmappagudi, Vhavihalli, NEB Range, Sandur Taluk, Bellary District is granted in favour of the following: M/s Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals."
Kumaraswamy's arrest comes on the heels of another arrest by SIT, that of Anand Singh, former tourism minister in the BJP government and mining businessman from Hospet. He was arrested in April in connection with illegal mining case, accused of illegally supplying 17,086 metric tonnes of iron ore through his company S B Minerals. SIT which functions under the state Lokayukta was formed last year to exclusively to handle illegal mining related cases -- irregularities involved in mining and export of iron ore below 50,000 tonne. Initially, nearly 39 cases listed by the CBI were taken over by SIT for investigation and right now, it has gone up to 55 cases. The CBI, Bangalore branch, which originally probed the illegal mining racket when the issue was at its peak, is still handling about six cases including that involving former tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy, now out on bail.
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