Members in the Legislative Council on Wednesday demanded a foolproof policy for controlling illegal sand mining in the State and conserving rivers for future generations.

Illegal sand mining and use of mechanised boats for extracting sand from river basins posed a threat to the existence of rivers, they contended. JD(S) member M Srinivas said that sand mafia was active in the State and more than 90 per cent of sand in the State was mined illegally, like iron ore in Bellary. But, the government had failed to take action against those involved in the illegal activity.

Bellary, Dec 2, 2012, DHNS : Many mining companies in the district, which faced the wrath of the Supreme Court for indulging in illegal mining, have started implementing reclamation and rehabilitat

Karnataka will build a gas-powered plant at Bidadi near Bangalore to meet the ever-increasing demand for power by the corporate giants.

The 1,400 Mw combined gas cycle plant will have four units of 350 Mw each. Sourcing for the gas is under finalisation. The project is estimated to cost Rs 3,750 crore. Energy minister Shobha Karandlaje, on Thursday told reporters at Dharwad, this gas power plant would be exclusively for Bangalore city. Of the power produced in the state, 45 per cent is being utilised by the people in Bangalore.

At Friday's e-auctions, NDMC had fixed a base price of Rs 4,500-5,000 per tonne, depending on the grade of iron ore (a mix of calibrated ore and fines, with 63-64 per cent Fe)

Despite state-owned mining major NMDC announcing a cut in iron ore prices, steel companies haven't shown much interest in buying the company's ore at e-auctions on Friday. Of the 1.02 million tonnes (mt) auctioned by NMDC, steel firms bought only 1,72,000 tonnes.

New Delhi Terming the mining lease of Karnataka-based Ramgad Minerals and Mining illegal, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has temporarily suspended the stage-II clearance given to the firm's mines in Bellary and decided to issue the company a showcause notice on why it should not be cancelled.

On September 9, 2010, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh gave Ramgad Minerals’ mines in Karnataka the much-needed stage-II clearance or final approval for iron-ore mining on 335.04 hectare of forest land without obtaining the compliance report and recommendations of the state government.

Great Indian Bustard, long-billed vulture spotted in a month’s span

Bellary is turning out to be an ornithologists’ dream destination. Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) were sighted a few days ago at Chelugurki village, 20 km from Bellary and 60 km from Siruguppa. Long-billed vultures had been spotted last month. Dwindling numbers of GIBs is a matter of concern across the country and their sightings have become a rarity.

Iron ore mining operations have been restarted in Karnataka's Bellary and Chitradurga districts, a year after these were suspended, following a Supreme Court directive. After securing all statutory approvals, two Category A mines have resumed mining, offering hope of regular iron ore supply to the ore-starved steel industry.

According to officials from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi), two mining lessees, R Praveen Chandra in Chitradurga and B Kumar Gowda in Bellary, have commenced mining. Nadeem Minerals, which has a mine in Bellary, is likely to restart mining next week. Together, these mines would bring about 1.5 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore to the auction platform in about two weeks.

Minister for Energy Shobha Karandlaje has said that the power generation in the State will increase by 4,000 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2014.

The Minister was laying the foundation stone for the work of construction of 110 kV capacity power distribution station in Sanda industrial area near Shikaripur in Shimoga district on Friday. The Yaramaras thermal power project and the third unit of Bellary thermal power project were expected to become operational by the end of the year 2014. The State government was expecting significant contribution from wind power units, she said.

PANJIM: Mine owners in the State have told the Supreme Court appointed Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) that they can be punished if they are guilty but if they are not, they should be allowed to restart legal mines as early as possible.

Various stakeholders including owners of trucks, barges, machinery and mine owners had urged CEC to start mining, during its four day visit, earlier this week. The mine owners who met the three member committee headed by P V Jayakrishnan, twice during their visit made their best attempt to put across the social and economic impact of mining ban on the State.