Anantapur, January 12: A three-member team of CBI officials, led by CBI DIG K Lakshmi Narayana, visited the controversial Obulapuram mines in D Heerehal mandal today on the directions of the government.
CBI officials who held a meeting with mines and forest department officials of both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in Bellary (Karnataka), later visited OMC I, II, III and Anantapur Mining Corporation mines. All the four mines are owned by Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.
Later, they also visited Y Mahabaleswarapapa and Sons Company, leased to Janardhan Reddy, and the Bellary Iron Ore Private Limited (BIOPL).
Lakshmi Narayana sought details pertaining to the royalty paid to the government, quantum of iron ore mined in respective companies, how many permits were sanctioned to the mining companies, to which companies those companies had been sold and from where and to where the iron ore was transported between 2007 and 2010.
The officer, who saw a heap of iron ore kept at the mining site, sought to know who had mined it, who owned it and how the officials identified the owner of the iron ore. However, the mining and forest department officials present there could not provide him with the answers.
Later, speaking to mediapersons, Lakshmi Narayan said that they were making an in-depth investigation into the violation of boundaries at the mines and on what basis had the state government given permission for mining.
He said that they will investigate into the amount of mineral mined illegally from the encroached mining area of others and from the land belonging to the government. Recently, a three-member Central Empowered Committee headed by MK Jiwa Rajika had visited Obulapuram mines for three days on the directions of the Supreme Court.
—Agencies