The yellow markings in this satellite image from the National Remote Sensing Agency show the additional areas mined at Kudremukh between December 30, 1999 and March 31, 2002.

BANGALORE: Eleven months after Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) ended mining operations in the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) on December 31, 2005 in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment of October 30, 2002, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has announced that the 54 hectares of land sought by KIOCL to undertake slope stabilisation and afforestation measures will be handed over to the company.

However, this decision, along with the Chief Minister's statement in New Delhi two days ago that the Government would file a fresh affidavit before the Supreme Court pressing for the reopening of the mines in the interest of the company's 15,000 employees, could give rise to fresh controversy.

The reason: an expert group of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, set up by the Supreme Court, has recommended calling for global tenders before assigning the task of slope stabilisation and restoration work to a party with expertise.

On May 10, 2006, five months after the closure of the mines, KIOCL filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court seeking permission to continue mining in the unbroken area of 54 ha, claiming that this was required in order to achieve slope stability in the entire mining area. This plea was backed by a report of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics at Kolar Gold Fields, which had recommended that about 3,38,100 sq. m of mining area needed to be freshly broken to achieve long-term stability of the slopes.

The Supreme Court judgment of October 30, 2002 made clear in no uncertain terms that there could be no fresh mining within the KNP. In its order (in response to a petition filed by the Bangalore-based Wildlife First), the Supreme Court said that in the run-up to the closure, KIOCL should ensure that no fresh area was broken up.

Meanwhile, the KIOCL actually increased the mining area extent by 56.28 ha, a fact recorded by at least two agencies.

A study by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), commissioned by the State Forest Department in April 2002, clearly found that during December 1999 (the year KIOCL's mining lease expired) the extend of mining area was 451.69 ha. By March 31, 2002, satellite data analysis showed the mining area had increased to 507.97 ha.

"This clearly indicates that there is an increase in the mine area extent by about 56.28 ha," the Hyderabad-based NRSA said in its report.

The audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 2003 observed that "KIOCL was operating outside the assigned area within the park and had mined an additional area of 56.28 ha from October 1999 to March 2002."

The Supreme Court referred the May 10 affidavit to the expert group of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, which said: "The KIOCL, being aware, well in advance, of the closure of the mines by December 2005, should have carried out operations in such a manner that the slopes were stable when the operations stopped."

The panel told the Supreme Court on July 13, 2006 that the scope of work defined by KIOCL to the NIRM for their study had not specified the condition of "no minimal disturbance to unbroken area."

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