Stop illegal mining in Bellary: FIMI tells Karnataka Govt

New Delhi, July 21 (UNI) Taking serious note of the bribery charge against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) President D K Sahni today said he has written to the state government to take stringent measures to stop illegal mining in the region.

The five-month-old BJP-JD (S) government was thrown into a crisis when BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy alleged in the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the Chief Minister had collected Rs 150 crore as bribe from mine owners in Bellary to allow illegal mining.

''FIMI has written to the Karnataka government to take stringent measures to stop illegal mining activity which is eating away the State's resources,'' Mr Sahni told a press conference here.

Mr Sahni asserted that nearly 40 per cent of the mining carried out in the country was illegal.

He welcomed the recommendations of Anwarul Hoda committee on National Mineral Policy submitted to the Government recently.

''The recommendation to set up of a Mineral Development and Finance Corporation (MIDFICS) is a welcome step,'' he said and expressed hope that the new policy would facilitate the process of foreign direct investment in mining.

He said inadequate infrastructure was the major road block to the healthy growth of the mining sector.

Citing the Tenth Plan Report, he said the slow growth of the mining sector was due to less spending on exploration, long delays in the clearance of applications, and fiscal policies not conducive to generating investment, among other things.

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