BANGALORE/GULBARGA: Former chief minister Dharam Singh who has been indicted by the Lokayukta in its report on illegal mining activities in the state, has demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Denying any involvement in the scam, Dharam Singh on Tuesday said that temporary permits and no mining licences were issued by his government.
In the report submitted to the government on December 18, the Lokayuta has recommended criminal action against Dharam Singh and 12 senior IAS officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The report states that Dharam Singh as chief minister disregarded official advice and permitted mining on ‘Patta Land’ and the same was issued with respect to an application by former minister S Ramesh.
The law does not permit mining on Patta Land and Dharam’s action resulted in a loss of Rs 23.22 crore to the state exchequer. The total loss from illegal mining activities during the period 2000-2006 being Rs 745.56 crore.
The report calls for a comprehensive legislation to restrain politicians from issuing recommendation letters for commercial purposes, noting that contrary to claims, not farmers but middleman and businessmen reaped the benefit of the Dharam Singh government’s action.
The officials named in the report are DGP Jija Harisingh, IAS officers Gangaram Baderia, Mahendra Jain, D S Ashwath, K S Manjunath, I R Perumal, V Umesh and Dr Basappa Reddy, retired director of mines and geology.