The rampant and illegal mining of precious white limestone in Palnadu region of the district has yet again come to the fore following the serious strictures passed against the State government by a Division Bench of the High Court on Wednesday. The illegal mining had been allegedly being carried out in 644.11 acres at Konanki and Piduguralla villages since 2014. The limestone powder is used in making of paints and is also one of essential feeds for chicken in poultry farms.
The High Court had issued notices to Gurazala Telugu Desam Party MLA Yerapathaneni Srinivasa Rao, Principal Secretaries, Revenue and Mines, District Collector, Guntur and SP, Guntur Rural, among the respondents in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former MLC TGV Krishna Reddy, and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Comptroller and Auditor General to explain how they would go further in their investigation of the huge scam. The HC also directed the State government to submit a report on the progress of investigation.
The Opposition YSR Congress Party was quick to attack the government and demanded a CBI inquiry.
“The illegal mining scandal is the biggest one in the country and involves senior politicians, bureaucrats, police officers and mining officials. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu claims that he had carried out a crusade against Gali Janardhana Reddy in the Ballari mining scandal. How will he respond to the serious allegations against Mr. Srinivasa Rao?’’ questioned party leader Kasu Mahesh Reddy.
Satellite imagery evidence
Mr. Krishna Reddy, who filed a PIL in 2017, seeking action against the MLA and other respondents and implementation of orders of the High Court to stop the illegal mining, had also presented satellite imagery evidence obtained by the National Remote Sensing Centre. The Digital Elevation Models (Dem) of the surface and volumetric change estimation measured by Aditya Geo-Informative Solutions revealed that 28.92 lakh metric tonnes of limestone had been excavated using explosives causing a huge loss to the exchequer.
A Lok Ayukta investigation has said that there is merit in the allegations against the MLA, and asked the District Collector to submit a report.
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