The Karnataka government is looking to mobilise close to Rs 10,000 crore from the iron ore mining sector which will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to undertake social infrastruct

Iron ore mining may resume by end-August in 14-15 leases in Karnataka’s Bellary region. The mines have a capacity of 4-5 million tonnes per annum.

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 Centre is likely to sanction Rs 294 crore as grant for drought relief to Karnataka. This means that the State gets just eight per cent of the total relief of Rs 3,605 crore it had sought from the Union government.

Secretariat sources said the Centre had indicated to the State that a final decision would be taken at a high-level committee meeting in New Delhi, either on June 1 or 2.

Implementation of the Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Package for farmers in suicide-prone districts in the State has come a cropper.

The government has failed to spend allocations made for the payment of ex gratia amount to distressed families of farmers and distribution of certified seeds, according to an evaluation study. The study conducted by professors M J Bhende and P Thippaiah of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, has also noted that the government has disbursed the ex gratia amount to ‘rich farmers’ and not to the actual beneficiaries.

It will be a while before Karnataka can expect any grant from the Centre for drought relief.

The Central drought assessment team headed by Parvesh Sharma on Wednesday directed the State government to furnish detailed statistics within a week’s time. The officials, at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, expressed dissatisfaction over the information provided by the Gowda-led all-party delegation in its memorandum.

The Central team touring the State to assess the drought situation has concluded that the drought in Chitradurga district is severe.

A member of the team, D Rajashekar, Deputy Advisor, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, New Delhi, told mediapersons in Chitradurga on Tuesday that the water table had depleted and borewells have dried up. The team will recommend to the Centre in its report to roll out development schemes to alleviate the sufferings of the drought-affected, he said. He commended the officials for the drought-relief works taken up in the district.

The State government was resorting to “jugglery of words” when speaking about the Netravati diversion project and the Yettinahole project, member of the Western Ghats Task Force B.M. Kumaraswamy said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Hindu here on the sidelines of a programme organised by the task force and the Department of Forests, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the government was denying that there was any attempt to divert the Netravati, and instead it was saying that it would supply drinking water to Kolar, Chickballapur, Chitradurga and Bangalore Rural districts from the Yettinahole, a tributary of the Netravati, he said.

The illegal mining scam has not deterred mining companies from making a beeline for Karnataka. Over 19,000 applications seeking permission to excavate ore in the State are pending with the government.

Data compiled by the Union Ministry of Mines shows that of the 42,535 pending applications seeking permission for mining in various mineral-rich states in the country, (as on April 19), more than 45 per cent (19,351) of them are pending in Karnataka alone — the highest in the country.

Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa today said it expects mining operations in Karnataka to begin "soon" as it has submitted reclamation and resettlement plan for its mine in Chitradurga district to an ape

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