Financial Express reported that contrary to the stand taken by Union ministries of steel and mining, Karnataka government has opposed lifting of a decade-old ban on export of iron ore from the state. It has told the Supreme Court that the rising domestic demand of steel requires proportionate iron ore quantity and that unregulated exports would lead to numerous problems. The state government has said the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee latest recommendation for unregulated exports of iron ore from the three districts is not backed by any material and is a substantial shift as against its earlier stand. Karnataka Government has reiterated its stand taken in the earlier affidavit and for the present, no exports ought to be permitted of the iron ore which are excavated from the mines situated in the state. It also said “The public interest lies in disposal of these applications as a first step. It is one thing to contend that a certain amount has been accumulated in a fund and completely another to say that such amount has actually been used towards rehabilitation.”NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, which is the petitioner before the SC, had opposed any such exports on the grounds that minerals being national assets need to be preserved and only finished steel should be exported. It also stated that exports should not be allowed as there is no surplus of iron ore.Union Ministries of Steel has recently supported the miners’ case for lifting of ban on export of iron ore extracted from the Karnataka’s three districts Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkar. The SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee, which had earlier favored the ban, also relented before the SC and said that the current situation warranted lifting of all the regulations on exports.
Financial Express reported that contrary to the stand taken by Union ministries of steel and mining, Karnataka government has opposed lifting of a decade-old ban on export of iron ore from the state. It has told the Supreme Court that the rising domestic demand of steel requires proportionate iron ore quantity and that unregulated exports would lead to numerous problems. The state government has said the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee latest recommendation for unregulated exports of iron ore from the three districts is not backed by any material and is a substantial shift as against its earlier stand. Karnataka Government has reiterated its stand taken in the earlier affidavit and for the present, no exports ought to be permitted of the iron ore which are excavated from the mines situated in the state. It also said “The public interest lies in disposal of these applications as a first step. It is one thing to contend that a certain amount has been accumulated in a fund and completely another to say that such amount has actually been used towards rehabilitation.”NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, which is the petitioner before the SC, had opposed any such exports on the grounds that minerals being national assets need to be preserved and only finished steel should be exported. It also stated that exports should not be allowed as there is no surplus of iron ore.Union Ministries of Steel has recently supported the miners’ case for lifting of ban on export of iron ore extracted from the Karnataka’s three districts Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkar. The SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee, which had earlier favored the ban, also relented before the SC and said that the current situation warranted lifting of all the regulations on exports.
