Karnataka | Why illegal mining scam has returned to haunt Kumaraswamy

With senior JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy taking over as Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries, the illegal mining scam unearthed by former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has returned to haunt him.

Samaj Parivartana Samudaya and the National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) have made strong exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to allocate him the key portfolio. They cited Kumaraswamy’s decision to renew the mining lease of a Mumbai-based company, Jantakal Enterprises, to lift iron ore from Chitradurga for 40 years after the last date to file applications, when he headed the JD(S)-BJP coalition government in the state in 2006.

It was Kumaraswamy’s decision to grant nod to Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) to operationalise the Devadari Iron Ore Mine that sparked a debate over the issue.

Kumaraswamy got relief in the 2006 mining case because of the “lenient stand” taken by the successive governments for political reasons. Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Lokayukta, which probed illegal mining cases in the state, did not name Kumaraswamy as an accused in Jantakal Mining Case in the chargesheet filed in connection with the case.

Appeal to President

Accusing successive governments of “weakening” the case related to Jantakal Mining lease issue for “political reasons”, founder-president of the Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) and the National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) SR Hiremath told The Federal that “Kumaraswamy’s appointment in the key ministry is unfortunate. He should not have accepted the post on moral grounds or should have resigned immediately.”

“I know raising moral questions under the present dispensation looks ridiculous. We know that appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve Kumaraswamy of his charge is a futile exercise. It’s better to plead with President Droupadi Murmu to direct the prime minister to relieve Kumaraswamy of the charge of his ministry,” he said.

Jantakal Mining Case

Kumaraswamy was accused of involvement in an illegal iron ore mining scam connected to Jantakal mines in Karnataka. During his tenure as the chief minister of Karnataka, Kumaraswamy allegedly facilitated a major mining scam to help a private firm named Jantakal Enterprises, as per sources in Lokayukta.

Kumaraswamy allegedly pressured a senior bureaucrat, who was arrested later, to renew the firm’s mining lease in 2007 for 70 years in glaring violation of several rules and on the basis of forged documents. However, the former CM still maintains that he is not involved in any wrongdoing.

Lokayukta’s SIT probe

Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in 2017 referred illegal mining cases, including the one involving Jantakal Mining Company, to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Lokayukta.

Kumaraswamy was accused of receiving Rs 150 crore as kickbacks in the Jantakal Mining Case. It is also said that former minister Janardhana Reddy had accused Kumaraswamy of receiving kickbacks for renewing mining licence and he had even “submitted proof” to substantiate his allegation. At that juncture, Kumaraswamy threatened SIT that he would commit suicide “if they proved his role in the mining case.”

In 2016, the Supreme Court directed Kumaraswamy to face trial for “abusing position in granting lease to a mining company for lifting one lakh metric tonnes (MT) of iron ore and rejecting his contention that the case was made out of political vendetta”.

Congress diluted cases

Hiremath, best known for his relentless fight against the illegal mining mafia in Karnataka, blames the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah for diluting the illegal mining cases against those involved, including powerful politicians such as Kumaraswamy.

He also blamed the state government’s cabinet sub-committee on illegal mining for the CBI’s decision to close illegal mining cases in Karnataka. He didn’t mince words in lambasting the state government, particularly Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet colleague HK Patil who headed the cabinet sub-committee.

Somanna’s connection?

Illegal mining case has not spared even Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna. According to Hiremath, a mining firm co-owned by V Somanna’s sons –Arun Somanna and Navin Somanna – was accused of encroaching and illegally mining 37.30 acres in the vicinity of a mining area leased to it in Gubbi Taluk of Tumkur district.

Though the anomalies came to the fore in August 2010, government officials allegedly hushed up the case. However, Dr UV Singh, the head of the Lokayukta team probing illegal mining, investigated the case. The probe team found that the firm had encroached upon 37.30 acres apart from the area allotted to it and was also accumulating mining effluents.