central empowered committee report (i) of the cec in writ petition

Karnataka to verify the above issue. It has taken more than
2-1/2 years for even seeking the legal opinion in the matter.
This is simply not acceptable and indicates the extent to
which the rot has set in and the vested interest have a hold
on the Government.
X. MINING LEASES WORKING WITHIN THE LEASE
AREA APPROVED UNDER FC ACT.
17. As per the details provided by the Karnataka Forests
Deptt., there are only 21 mining leases in the entire State
and which are working within the lease areas approved
under the FC Act, 1980. A statement in this regard, provided
by the State of Karnataka to the CEC, is enclosed at
ANNEXURE–R-79 to this Report. It is seen that all of these
21 mines fall in the category of “not working / idle mines” and
which shows that there is not even a single mine in the entire
State which is presently operational and is not working in
violation of the provisions of the FC Act. This information
speaks volumes about the sorry state of affairs in the State
of Karnataka.
XI. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
18. There are 266 iron ore mines in Karnataka, out of
which 134 are located in forest area while the balance 132
are in non-forest area. These mines cover 11604 ha. of
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