BENGALURU | Jun 11, 2015: Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) has neither the locus standi nor the legal right to offer land and infrastructure to set up an IIT or any other institution at Kudremukh, which now comes under the Kudremukh National Park (KNP), according to NGO Wildlife First.
The NGO, whose petition before the Supreme Court led to the closure of mining activities in Kudremukh, has strongly objected to KIOCL offering land and buildings located within KNP limits. Express had reported about KIOCL’s offer on June 6.
As per the Supreme court order, the plant, buildings and other infrastructure stands forfeited to the state government.
According to NGO trustees Praveen Bhargav and K M Chinnappa, this is a blatant disregard of the Supreme Court order, as the company continues to occupy and use the lapsed mining lease area and keeps floating such proposals. In 2013, the company had attempted to start a 5-star tourist retreat with an 18-hole golf course and helipad among others within the limits of the park, they said.
In 2014, it called for an Expression of Interest and attempted to sub-lease government land and infrastructure for tourism. “In view of the objections raised by us, the proposals were rejected by the government,” they said. Urging the government to reject the proposal and immediately recover 1,452 hectares of lapsed mining lease area, Bhargav said.
However, KIOCL was permitted by the Supreme Court (IA 670/2001 in WP 202/1995) to continue only up to December 31, 2005, and that too only in the already broken up area of 1,452 hectares.
“After this period, KIOCL had exhausted all rights even over the 1,452 hectares of land. The company, 16 years after the lease lapsed and 10 years after the time period granted by the Supreme Court ended, is still in possession of the area within the Kudremukh National Park. Therefore, their proposal to offer public land to IIT is ab initio void as they have no legal right whatsoever,” the activists said.
Bhargav and Chinnappa explain that the land use of the said area has therefore changed from mining to National Park. The area where buildings and other infrastructure are located is fully surrounded by the park and thus deemed an Ecologically Sensitive Area based on Supreme Court orders (December 4, 2006 in WP 460/2004).
“The said area also falls within the Western Ghats Eco-sensitive Zone as identified by the High-level Working Group and notified by the Ministry of Environment on March 10, 2014, which prohibits township development projects of 50 hectares and above,” they said.
(Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/)