Welcoming the State government’s decision to initiate action against seven officials as per the Lokayukta Report II on illegal mining, the NCPNR (National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources) has urged the government to initiate action against the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh and IAS and IPS officials, including Gangaram Baderia and Basappa.
Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, founder-president of NCPNR and Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS) S.R. Hiremath said the NCPNR study team had strongly felt that the government should, while taking action, begin “from the top”, with people’s representatives and higher officials, and work its way down the food chain.
He said the Lokayukta Report (Part I) dated December 18, 2008, had recommended action against Mr. Singh, six managing directors and two officials of Mysore Minerals Ltd., as well as two former Directors of Mines and Geology Gangaram Baderia and Basappa.
NCPNR would urge the government to take action against them by entrusting the cases pertaining to higher officials and influential individuals to the CBI. Mr. Hiremath said that the NCPNR and SPS welcomed the steps taken by the Secretary (Mines) of Department of Commerce and Industry, Turshar Giri Nath, for ascertaining the exact quantity of illegal ore extracted by ‘C’ category mines, and steps to be taken to file civil and criminal cases against ‘C’ category mines. However, investigation should be done by the CBI, not the CID, as decided during a meeting chaired by the Secretary, he said.
