HAVERI: The Department of Mines and Geology has imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore on Haveri district Minister Rudrappa Lamani for allegedly violating rules concerning stone quarry licences.
Lamani is a quarry owner near Hunasikatti in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri. The department has issued a notice to him, giving six months to pay the penalty in three instalments.
Besides the minister, more than 60 stone quarry owners in Haveri have also been fined for allegedly violating licence conditions by encroaching on land and extracting stone beyond the permitted area.
The Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC) had conducted a drone-based survey following complaints of violations.
The survey reportedly found that several quarry operators had breached the licence conditions, following which penalties were imposed on the quarry owners in the district. Lamani is among those who have been fined, it is learnt.
Reacting to the minister himself being fined for violating quarry licence rules, Haveri District Crusher and Quarry Owners’ Association president Basavaraj Belavadi said, “Minister Rudrappa Lamani has received a fine... As a minister, he does not have the courage to speak to the chief minister about the issue."
"Only when all of us launch a protest will he also come out in the open. They will simply tell us, ‘Go and pay the fine. What have you lost?’ He too has admitted that this is wrong," Belavadi said.
The minister has not reacted on the issue so far.