From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Feb 2: Mines and geology minister Murugesh Nirani on Tuesday said a fair investigation headed by revenue department commissioner will be conducted into the Shivamogga blast case and tough action will be taken against the culprits. The minister made the statement in the legislative council.
Nirani was replying to the debate under Rule 68 in the Legislative Council.
He said the case has been registered against stone crusher unit’s owner DV Sudhakar and landowner Kulkarni and the licence has been cancelled.
Nirani said 65,000 detonators, 1275 kg gelatins, 17500-meter safety fuse have been seized and the order has been issued not to renew the licence of this unit.
The minister said grants of the approved land at the blast site have been cancelled and a compensation of Rs 5 lac each to the kin of six deceased distributed.
The distribution of compensation delayed due to difficulty in identifying the bodies. Nirani added that a total of 137 cases related to unauthorised mining and transportation have been registered in Shivamogga during 2019-20 and Rs 67.95 lakh fine collected in 66 cases.
Tough instruction has been issued to stone crusher contractors to compulsorily inform the jurisdiction police stations about the explosions in the units in advance, he said.
“Crushed stone gravels, pebbles, M-sand, sand and other construction aggregates are essential for construction activities and development of the state and it is necessary to issue licences to crusher units as per the demand for such materials in the state,’’ Nirani said.
The minister said currently total 2,493 stone quarrying permits and licences for 1,682 crusher units have been issued in the state and 289 M-sand units running.
The mines and geology department has collected Rs 3,629 crore revenue during 2019-20 and Rs 2,318 crore during 2020-21. The minister said there is an average of 250 million metric tonnes demand for stone gravels in the state.
The state has earned revenue of Rs 1,486 crore from stone quarrying during 2019-20 and Rs 735.53 crore during 2020-21, he added.