Hyderabad, July 24: Alleged irregularities in leasing out mines in Bayyaram mandal of Khammam district rocked the State Assembly during its recent monsoon session with not only the Opposition but also some MLAs of the ruling Congress demanding a House Committee probe. Members of the opposition parties, particularly the TDP and the CPI, insisted on a discussion on the adjournment motion notices given by them but Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy adjourned the House several times during the entire session.
CPI legislator from Kothagudem in Khammam district K Sambasiva Rao raised the issue in the Assembly. He said if the APMDC mined the iron ore itself, it would earn thousands of crores instead of the meagre royalty it would get as per the government notification. He alleged that the consortium had already started mining in the Bayyaram forest area under the mining leases they had procured for about 240 acres in 2005. He alleged that a large quantity of iron ore had already been transported to Amoda Iron and Steels in Krishna district.
The Opposition alleged that the previous Congress government headed by the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy sought to hand over iron ore reserves in Khammam district to the Rakshana Steels Limited reportedly promoted by his son-in-law and evangelist Anil Kumar. They demanded a probe by the House committee into the deal terming it as the biggest scandal in the country. However, the State government refused to appoint a House committee. According to the Opposition, 24 hectares was allotted to Rakshana Steels in 2005 and another 260 acres in 2009.
Interestingly, it was not only the Opposition but also Congress MLAs who demanded a probe into the Bayyaram mining. Several Congress MLAs, including R Damodar Reddy and P Shankar Rao, felt that YS Rajasekhara Reddy had doled out a lot of favours to his family members during his regime and sought a probe into the Bayyaram mines agreement between the APMDC and Rakshana Steels Limited..
The APMDC entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rakshna Steels Limited on February 25 last year. It is alleged that Anil Kumar is the executive director of the firm but Rakshana Steels denied it. As per the MoU, all the iron ore mined in the area should be sold only to Rakshana Steels.
However, Minister for Mines B Srinivasa Reddy refuted the allegations saying that mining was being carried out by the APMDC and Rakshna Steels was only transporting the mined ore. He said the State government had given its approval on certain terms and conditions approved by a high-powered committee. The Opposition sought the intervention of Chief Minister K Rosaiah following which he promised a comprehensive statement on the issue.
–Agencies