Witnesses who have testified against Janardhan Reddy and his menfear the mining baron's release from jail

A torrent of calls flooded the CBI unit in Bangalore when T. Pattabhi Ramarao, the CBI judge in distant Hyderabad, granted bail to the jailed mining baron, G. Janardhan Reddy, on May 11. Many of the frantic calls were from the 300-plus witnesses painstakingly persuaded by the CBI-Bangalore to testify in the case registered against Mr. Reddy's flagship firm, the Associated Mining Company (AMC).

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based non-government body, has issued a report on major failures of governance and regulation in the Indian mining sector. Explaining how regulatory lapses led to criminality, it has said former Karnataka minister and mining magnate Janardhana Reddy allegedly used his official position to extort huge quantities of iron ore from other operators, using government regulators as part of his scheme.

HRW has said Reddy may have run an extortion racket in the state, along with his brothers Karunakara and Somashekara Reddy, usurping mineral production of other miners in return for providing protection from government regulation.

Private company accused of plundering natural wealth

A private company has been allegedly extracting high-quality Shahbad stone slabs illegally at Wadi and villages near Chittapur in Gulbarga district for the past several years. According to Ashok Dahinde and Nariman Irani, the shareholders of Wadi Stone Marketing Company, the firm was quarrying stone even after its lease had expired in 1992.

The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to probe illegal mining in Karnataka has ruled out resumption of mining operations in the state until mining plans in category A and B

The CBI on Wednesday filed a chargesheet, along with 18,327 documents in nine trunks, against G Janardhana Reddy and six others in a case related to illegal iron ore mining by the former minister’s

The State-run National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Russian steel maker Severstal are likely to sign a final agreement to set up a steel plant in Bellary by the end of this year.

“Both companies have appointed legal consultants to study the project structure, and based on inputs, both firms will sign an agreement,” N K Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC, told Deccan Herald on Thursday.

Incriminating documents seized, says investigating agency

The CBI is unlikely to book the 15 lease holders whose mines were taken over by an alleged mafia operated by former Karnataka minister G Janardhan Reddy between 2008 and 2010 in an illegal mining s

The area under forest cover in Karnataka has increased by four square kilometres, according to a latest report of the Forest Survey of India. It says the change has been noticed in the assessment year of 2009, compared to the survey carried out in 2008. The report was put in the public domain recently.

Sources in the State government told The Hindu that the change for the better was being seen for the first time in about a decade. What was noteworthy was that at a time when forests were being “plundered in terms of their flora and fauna and conservationists facing a tough challenge,” the increase, though negligible, marks a refreshing change.”