The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) today got a fresh lease of life with the Union government extending the temporary work permit to continue operating its open cast iron ore mine in the eco-sensitive Kudremukh range in Chikmagalur district. The permit is valid for a period of one year only, according to senior officials in KIOCL.
The company did not operate its mines today in view of the delay in extending the work permit. The question of allowing the company to continue mining work was mired in controversy with some environmental groups opposing mining operations in the area.
The earlier work permit issued in July 1999 expired yesterday. The KIOCL`s long lease granted in 1969 had expired in July 1999. The company is also seeking the renewal of long lease for another 20 years.
KIOCL Executive Director K V Thyagarajan told Deccan Herald the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued the letter to the State Forest Secretary that would enable the company to continue its operations this afternoon. The letter stipulates that the company could work only the already broken mines spreading into 1,472 hectares and would not be permitted to touch new areas.
The ministry has also directed the State government to issue the final notification regarding the Kudremukh National Park by September 30, 2000, and asked the company to complete all the pending environmental studies within next six months.
He, however, said the company was yet to receive official communication from the State government in this regard, which is expected to be issued tomorrow. The company would resume mining operations only after repairing the slurry pipeline, which got punctured at Nooral Bettu area in the Western Ghats on July 17. The repair work is expected to be completed in a month`s time.
It may be recalled that the State government had recommended the Centre to grant a one year permit to KIOCL for mining so that the company`s work did not suffer. The MoEF had asked the State government to exclude KIOCL boundaries from the intended national park and issue a notification.
SLURRY LEAKAGE: Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, here yesterday, KIOCL Chairman and Managing Director S Murari admitted that the leakage of the iron ore slurry through its pipeline at Nooral Bettu area near Mullikar village would lead to a loss of US dollar 50,000 for the Rs 640 crore company during the current financial year (2000-01), Mr Murari blamed the south-west monsoon for the landslides that caused the pipeline to break away. The company had stopped the pumping work on July 18, he said.
Mr Murari, who visited the spot on Sunday along with other directors of the company said that a contractor has been pressed for the work to do manual digging to locate the exact point of leakage, which is about 8 to 10 metres below the ground level. ''We are exploring the possibility of moving the earth moving equipments for early completion of repair work,`` he said.