Sandur mining: Govt seeks time to submit report to NGT

The state government has sought a week's time to submit its report on its recommendation for the first stage of approval to commence mining near Kumaraswamy temple in Sandur, Ballari district.

The principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken up a suo motu case following a DH report that state government's approval was given amid an ongoing case in the High Court of Karnataka, which had ordered a high-level committee to assess the potential impact of mining, on the 1,200 year-old temple.

However, before the committee could submit its report, the additional chief secretary of the state forest department in May 2024 requested (in-principle) clearance for the project. The original boundary of the mining lease falls within 400 metres from the temple. In its letter recommending the project, the department incorporated an Archeological Survey of India's direction that mining shall be 600 metres away from the temple.

In its submission, the state government said a "similar" issue was dealt by the Supreme Court and sought a week's time to submit the relevant documents. The government advocate also stated that the orders of the high court and the apex court will be placed before the NGT.

The bench headed by chairperson Prakash Shrivastava took note of the request and posted the matter for August 28.