HYDERABAD: BRS working presidentKT Rama Rao on Monday wrote to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy seeking cancellation of what he termed “irregular” mining e-auction tenders in forest areas of Suryapet district. Alleging serious procedural lapses and legal violations, he demanded an immediate independent inquiry and scrapping of the tenders.
The BRS leader criticised the Mines & Geology department, claiming the e-auction was conducted in a manner that undermined transparency. Referring to Notification No 2263906/DM&G MI/Lst/2023 dated August 30, 2024, he flagged what he described as multiple deficiencies in the tender process.
He alleged that nearly 1,100 acres of reserved forest land fall within the Pasupulabodu, Saidulnama and Sultanpur mining blocks, but the tender documents failed to disclose mandatory technical details such as precise latitude and longitude coordinates, proper demarcation and boundary fixation through Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGPS) survey validation, forest compartment data, detailed survey maps and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) geo-coordinates.
He further claimed that comprehensive geological reports required under the Mineral Auction Rules, 2015, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, were not furnished, rendering the process legally questionable.
The former IT minister also expressed concern that the authorities proceeded with the auction despite pending legal scrutiny and allegedly did not comply with directions issued by the Telangana High Court in WP (PIL) No 21 of 2024. He questioned the announcement of preferred bidders before completion of environmental and statutory clearances.
Casting doubts over the selection of Deccan Cements Limited and NCL Industries Limited, he alleged that the firms were facing cases related to illegal mining in reserved forest areas. He further alleged that the auction was conducted without obtaining a mandatory no objection certificate (NOC) from the Forest department and warned that such actions could damage the environment and erode public trust.
He demanded immediate suspension of all proceedings under the notification, cancellation of the tender, and a time-bound independent probe. He urged the government to issue fresh tenders only after completing scientific surveys and securing all statutory clearances in a transparent manner.