The much-awaited second report of the Karnataka Lokayukta on illegal mining, parts of which were leaked to Times Now two days before its expected release, has indicted Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, in addition to the Bellary brothers and Housing Minister V. Somanna.
Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde told The Hindu that the details of the leaked report were “substantially correct,” although he was clear that the leak was not from his officers.
“The report has not been printed yet, and we were planning to release it on July 23,” Mr. Hegde said. “The biggest perpetrator of fraud named in our report is the Obulapuram Mining Company.” (Tourism Minister G. Janardhan Reddy is a partner in the company.)
According to Times Now , Mr. Yeddyurappa and his family have been beneficiaries of the largesse of mining companies. An educational trust run by the Chief Minister's family allegedly received large sums of money in donations from mining companies. The report also comes down heavily on Mr. Yeddyurappa for retaining the allegedly tainted mining barons from Bellary in his Cabinet.
In the case of Mr. Kumaraswamy, the report indicts him for giving mining licences, in violation of the law, to Jantkal mining company and Sai Venkateshwara Minerals.
As expected, the names of Mr. Janardhan Reddy, Revenue Minister K. Karunakara Reddy and Health Minister B. Sriramulu, who have been accused of illegal mining in the first report, also figure in the second report.
The report also names Mr. Somanna for his alleged involvement in illegal mining in Tumkur district.
According to Times Now , the report estimates the loss to the State exchequer on account of illegal mining at Rs. 1,827 crore over a period of 14 months between April 2009 and May 2010.
The report also names Congress MP Anil Lad and BJP MLA Nagendra, who represents Kudligi in Bellary.
The leak of the report on illegal mining comes at a time when Mr. Yeddyurappa is abroad.
Leak partial
Senior Forest Department official U.V. Singh, who is also a key investigator in the Lokayukta probe, told The Hindu that the report was not even complete. The report was not even printed. “Some chapters are still being given final touches,” he said.
According to a reporter in Times Now , a source read out parts of the report to the channel.
Meanwhile, Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa expressed disappointment over the “leak” of the report and urged the Lokayukta to formally release the report.
