BANGALORE: In an early morning sweep on Wednesday, the CBI raided former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's residence in Dollar's colony, an upmarket area in Bangalore, and in Shimoga, in connection with his involvement in illegal mining and business transactions.

Govt asks AP guv to use powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite lease in Maoist area
For the first time, the Centre has urged the governor to use his special powers in Scheduled Areas to cancel bauxite mining leases given in Andhra Pradesh’s Vishakhapatnam district.

JODHPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday ordered halting of all mining activities in the Beri Ganga forest land, which had badly affected the catchment area of the Bal Samand Lake and its feeder canal having a length of 10 km. The court also said that the district collector, police and officials of forests and mining departments would be responsible if any mining takes place in the area in future.

JAIPUR: At a time when the state has embarked on a special campaign against illegal mining in the state, there is little that is stopping the mafia from going ahead with their activities even in a sacrosanct place like Ranthambore tiger reserve. The government has undertaken a two-month special drive against illegal mining in the state from April 23.

New Delhi The Parliament's standing committee on rural development has recommended a widening of the ambit of the Land Acquisition Bill, 2011, to include highways, nuclear plants, mines and special economic zones (SEZ).

Since much of the land acquisition for public purpose under the proposed law expected in mining, power and other infrastructure sectors, these exemptions needed to be removed, the committee felt.

The CBI probing into the death of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh has ruled out ‘pre-planning’ by the mining mafia. Singh (30) was killed while trying to stop a tractor carrying illegally mined stones near Morena in Madhya Pradesh on March 7. The CBI, which recently sought the custody of arrested tractor driver Manoj Gurjar, took him to the place of the incident and videographed the chase route followed by Singh on that night.

NONGSTOIN: People of Mawthadraishan Block in West Khasi Hills district have opposed the district administration’s decision to issue ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) to set up cook mine factory at Madan Riewblei.

A public meeting was held recently here where people voiced their opposition to the administration’s decision. The meeting, convened by the Synjuk Nongsynshar Shnong of Umiap area, was attended by members of FKJGP, West Khasi Hills Students’ Union (WKHSU) and Senglongkmie, Headman of the area.

A day after Maoists killed six CISF personnel and a driver inside the biggest iron ore mining facility in the country, the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) complex here remained unguarded. Locals dropped in, “examined” the damaged Bolero, went through belongings of the deceased, noted the bullet marks and clicked photographs and made video films, even picking up the occasional empty shells.

The coal ministry has asked Coal India to sign the new format fuel supply agreements with power units coming up between January 2012 and March 2015.
The directive came in response to a clarification sought by the miner on whether it should sign supply pacts with new thermal plants on the terms mentioned in the existing contracts or the new agreements, which significantly dilute the miner’s supply obligations.