In yet another setback for the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government, the High Court has declared notices cancelling the granite mining leases of TDP MLA Gottipati Ravi Kumar and former MLA Pothula Rama Rao in Prakasam district to be invalid. The YSRCP government has been relentlessly pursuing financially sound TDP leaders with an objective of wiping out the party in the district since the elections. As part of this vicious attack, the mining department has imposed a penalty of Rs. 500 crores on the companies belonging to the two TDP leaders for allegedly violating royalty payment provisions.
Ravi Kumar and Rama Rao approached the High Court over the penalty and obtained favourable verdicts. The state government has now sent officials from the Pollution Control Board to the mines. They have issued licence cancellation notices to 11 mines belonging to the two leaders for causing pollution beyond permissible limits. The TDP leaders have again moved the court, which, on August 27 cancelled the notices.
Will the government respect the court verdict?
It is anyone’s guess that the Jagan government will not stop at this. The political circles are curious to know the next move of YSRCP government. It is reliably learnt that the state government is now reexamining the granite leases. Amid allegations that the government is losing huge amounts in terms of loyalty because of existing leases, it may raise royalties abnormally to make the business unviable to leaseholders. The plan might be to make them quit on their own.
Curbs on transport
Granite is mainly exported to China and Japan from Prakasam district. Each block of stone weighs 40 to 60 tonne. The stones are transported to ports by road. The load allowance depends on the capacity of the vehicle used for transport. If transport officials act tough, it will be impossible for many vehicles to transport these stones. The government is said to be considering using these rules to choke the granite trade. These checks and restrictions are most likely to be aimed at political opponents of the government.
