New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS): The Supreme Court Friday banned iron ore mining in Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka after an expert panel's report of widespread illegalities in these areas.
A forest bench headed by the Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia gave the order after a report by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on environmental matters.
The CEC pointed to the reckless destruction of hills in the area, which is extremely detrimental to the environment.
As some miners argued that they were not involved in illegal mining, the court said it was not taking up individual cases but looking at the macro picture.
The Supreme Court had Aug 19 issued notice to the Karnataka government and private miners after the committee sought a ban on iron ore mining in these two districts.
The forest bench had banned iron ore mining in Bellary district of the state July 29.