Last week, the B. S. Yeddyurappa-led government discreetly dereserved approximately 5,000 sq km of forest land in 13 districts without aking any official announcement. This land consists of around 302 sq km of core forest area, including tiger habitats, in three districts - Mysore, Bellary and Shimoga. The minelords - one of whom, G. Janardhana Reddy, is ironically the state minister for tourism - have been effectively given permission for mining iron ore, chromite, black granite, manganese and kyanite in the dereserved areas.
The cabinet note regarding this decision states that the 302 sq km of dereserved core forests is a "bushy area" and "will be thrown open for mining of important mineral resources. The mining of such mineral resources will propel the economic growth of the state and provide employment to thousands of jobless people." This is seemingly untrue. The 302 sq km of dereserved area is, according to the state forests department, a core tiger habitat. Read the full article here
Source: India Today, Aravind Gowda, Karnataka
