MANGALURU | Feb 08, 2015:
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa alleged here on Saturday that the State government directly “allotted” mining leases to seven companies last month after the Union government promulgated an ordinance to allow auction policy in grant of mining leases.
At a press conference here, he claimed that a case of illegal mining was pending against one of the seven companies and it was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He said the Union government promulgated the ordinance on January 5. But the “allotment” was made on January 7 and January 12.
The Union government issued a notification on amending the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 on January 12.
He claimed that as per the amendment, only end-user companies such as steel manufacturers could participate in the auction and not mining companies. But in this case, mining companies had been directly “allotted” the lease without making end-users to participate in the auction, he alleged. The BJP leader claimed that the direct allotment had caused loss to the State exchequer and helped certain individuals.
(Source: http://www.thehindu.com/)