New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS): Partially lifting its ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka's Bellary district, the Supreme Court Friday asked the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to start mining on its two leases to produce 12 million tonnes iron ore to meet the domestic requirement of the iron and steel industry.
The court asked the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to carry out an environment impact assessment of the area.
The report should be submitted to the apex court in three months. The court has asked the environment and forest ministry to frame terms of reference for the assessment.
An apex court forest bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Swatanter Kumar said there will be no export of iron ore mined from Bellary.
The court said the state government will charge 10 percent of the market price of the extracted ore as royalty from the NMDC.