From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Mar 9: Permission for bauxite mining has been granted in the villages of Moodabidri assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada district by the state government, according to Karnataka’s law and parliamentary affairs minister S Suresh Kumar.

Replying to a question from Congress member K Abhayachandra Jain, he said the Government has sought the deputy commissioner’s opinion for granting permission for bauxite mining in the constituency.

A Shimoga-based private firm had applied in 2007 seeking permission for bauxite mining in the constituency, the minister said.

In the same year, the minister said the Government had sought clearance from the Forest Department and the department said out of 630 acres identified for mining, only 97 acres fall outside the Western Ghats.

The Government would hold a public hearing before permitting mining in the constituency and there was no need for the people to panic, Kumar said.

Earlier, Jain said the people had protested the survey of their lands by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board.

The environment, agricultural and grazing lands in the constituency would be damaged if the permission was granted for the bauxite mining, he claimed.

In reply to another question from Congress member Vasanth Bangera, the minister said compensation to be paid for families who lose lands for installation of power transmission line in the Belthangady constituency.  The compensation was limited only to crop loss, he said.

The 180 km 400 kv transmission line would installed from Nandikur in Udupi district to Shantigrama in Hassan district, he said.

Kumar said 159 towers would be installed in Belthangady taluk and so far only 54 sub-stations and two towers have been constructed.

A sum of Rs. 68.27 lac compensation had been paid to 44 families. Another 105 sub-stations would be constructed and compensation would be paid to land owners, he said.

But Congress member Gopal Bhandari and C T Ravi (BJP) urged the government to come out with a new policy for granting higher compensation for families who lose lands for installation of towers and transmission lines in farm lands. Now, the government has been providing compensation only for the crop loss, they said.