BANGALORE, JULY 25. The temporary work permit for mining granted to the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL), a Union Government undertaking under the Ministry of Steel and Mines, for a year, ended on July 24 and was renewed on Tuesday for one more year.
A tremendous pressure had been exerted by environmental groups on both the State and Union governments not to renew the work permit.
According to them, the extraction of iron ore at the heart of the Western Ghats led to devastating environmental impact as it drastically affected the bio-diversity reserve of the region and endangered the unique fauna and flora, some of which were endemic to the zone. In the process, it had polluted the rivers originating from it.
The KIOCL was originally granted mining lease in 1969 for 30 years by the Karnataka Government. It ended on July 24, 1999. Subsequently, it was given a temporary work permit for a year, which expired on Monday.
The State Government, which received a request for renewal of mining lease for a further 20 years, stipulated that an environmental impact study be undertaken.
This job was entrusted to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of Nagpur, which presented an interim report. Its findings are awaited.
A major hurdle in obtaining renewal of mining lease by KIOCL was the notification of 500 sq. km of area, inclusive of the entire Kudremukh mining area, under the Kudremukh National Park by the State Government in 1987.
To compound the woes of KIOCL, a 67-km-long slurry pipeline to Mangalore laid through the evergreen forest developed a leakage, polluting the Yennehole river and leading to a severe ecological damage.
The leakage reinforced the contention of environmentalists that it was hazardous to mine in the Western Ghats and the work permit sought by the company should not be granted.
The Urban Research Centre of Bangalore, in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, urged the Government to relocate KIOCL from the Kudremukh region to Sandur area in Bellary District on the ground that the Sandur belt offers better quality of iron ore. Such a move, according to it, would protect the precious Kudremukh National Park and also the nearby Bhadra Sanctuary.
Mr. K. V. Narendra, Director of Urban Research Centre, observed that KIOCL had been mining poor quality ore, with an iron content of 38 per cent, compared to the ore with 60 per cent iron content available in the Sandur region. He pointed out that the company had been incurring an enormous expenditure for upgradation of low quality ore in the concentrator plant by utilising a large quantity of electricity and water. The heavy concentration of tailings in the Lakhya dam resulted in its getting filled prematurely about a decade ago. The height of the dam was increased by 100 feet and this led to the submersion of 300 hectares of precious shola forests.
Mining in the Kudremukh region is said to be an ecological disaster as, on an average, it receives 7,000 mm. of rainfall annually. This has led to mining wastes choking feeder streams as well as the Bhadra river. According to environmental activists, 30 years of mining by KIOCL has systematically destroyed the habitat complex of the region, endangering precious flora, fauna and rare wildlife. The water courses and rivers, which originate in the Western Ghats, are said to have been contaminated. The Kudremukh region, once known for its scenic beauty, is now dotted with ugly scars of mining. The hazardous implication of mining at the source of the Bhadra and the Tunga, is yet to be ascertained. Naturalists have been complaining of disappearance of a rich variety of fish, and the Mahaseer is now in danger. The farmers downstream have been complaining of a steep decline in agriculture productivity, owing to the heavy concentration of tailings in rivers and streams. It is alarming that the sources of drinking water of hundreds of villages are reportedly contaminated.
According to Mr. Narendra, out of 4,500 species of flowering plants, 1700 which were endemic were endangered as were a rich variety of mushroom flora. The unique wildlife species of the region, it was said, were facing extinction. The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, which consisted of a tiger reserve, was in proximity to the Kudremukh National Park.
Environmental groups had been arguing that economic benefits such as earning foreign exchange should not get precedence over protection of precious shola grass lands, evergreen forests and rivers. Incidentally, the Bhadra, flowing from the Kudremukh area, joined the Tunga at Bhadravathi to form the mighty Tungabhadra, which eventually merged with the Krishna in the Deccan Plateau.
According to the management, KIOCL had emerged as the largest export-oriented public sector company, earning foreign exchange worth $150 million annually. It had so far exported $1,500 million worth of iron ore. The long-term impact of environmental degradation was too heavy a price to be paid for economic benefits, the management argued.