The news that the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government has given green signal for the resumption of iron ore mining activity mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy in Obulapuram mines in Anantapur district has triggered a sensation in the state politics.
A couple of days ago, the state government’s counsel told the Supreme Court that it has no objection to resumption of iron ore mining in the reserve forest area by Obulapuram mining company (OMC) promoted by Gali Janardhan Reddy.
The Jagan government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court after OMC sought the apex court’s permission to resume mining activities, claiming that “nothing further survives” in the case since the boundary dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka that had caused mining to stop was now resolved.
Now, if the Supreme Court gives the nod, following the submission by the state government, Gali Janardhan Reddy is back in the iron ore mining and that will be a big plus point for the YSR Congress party, because of the close relations between him and Jagan.
In March 2010, the SC stopped mining in Anantapur district until the mining leases were demarcated on the ground after its Central Empowered Committee (CEC) reported rampant encroachment and recommended that companies guilty of mining outside lease areas be allowed to resume mining and made to pay exemplary penalty.
There were allegations that Gali Janardhan Reddy had resorted to alleged encroachment of forest land and indiscriminate mining of iron ore in more area than what was permitted by the OMC. He has still been facing the CBI investigation for alleged illegal extraction and money laundering.
In January 2010, soon after Konijeti Rosaiah succeeded YS Rajasekhara Reddy as Chief Minister, the Andhra Pradesh government had told the SC that the Reddy brothers had in the Bellary forests illegally mined around 1.95 lakh tonnes of iron ores and that allowing them to continue would be a “premium on dishonesty”.