BENGALURU: Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani on Monday said strict action will be taken against those, including government officials, indulging in illegal mining activities.On Monday, Mandya MP Sumalatha met Nirani and urged him to immediately stop “illegal mining” in the vicinity of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir.
Later, Nirani told reporters that he will visit the mining areas in Mandya this week along with the MP, MLAs, MLCs and people’s representatives of the region, for an inspection.Nirani said mining activities are banned in a 15-km radius of the KRS dam and officials were instructed to impose fines and stop mining activities after violations by some companies came to light.
The minister said that after the MP complained about the threat to the dam, a team of officials were sent for inspection. The officials conducted a joint survey and submitted a report denying illegal stone mining activities in the last three months, he said.
Nirani said the government has decided to conduct trial blasts around the KRS reservoir through Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station CSIR-CIMFR to study the impact and determine the permissible magnitude of explosions. He further said that he had instructed the officials to conduct trial blasts and submit a report which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.