Govt suspends Ceripuram mines deal

Khammam, Nov 26: The Regional Director of Mines on Thursday suspended the lease agreement signed with Vishva Bharathi Mining Company for mining byrates at Ceripuram in Garla mandal. District Collector Usha Rani announced this on receipt of instructions from the Centre.The Vishva Bharathi company, which bagged the 39-year lease for 300 hectares in 1970 allegedly resorted to mining places beyond the approved area under the deal.Recently, an official team from the Mining Department visited the Ceripuram and found the irregularities including tresspassing of mining area not specified under the deal. Later, the team sent a report to the government on the tresspasses made by the company. Ultimately, the Government suspended the lease agreement on Thursday.

As part of the administrative action, the district collector approached the High Court stating that the Vishva Bharathi Mining Company got the lease in a scheduled area which should have gone to a Scheduled Tribe and the mining company has no right to explore mines in the area.Meanwhile, on a petition from the Forest Department officials, the High Court allowed the company to explore mineral at the specified area as demarcated by the Revenue officials. It also declared that the mining area is not in the Scheduled area. However, Usha Rani found fault with the demarcation and argued that the mines existed in the Scheduled area and submitted a report of the forest conservator to the court. The collector stated that Ceripuram is in the Sujathanagar mandal as the court supposed as the mining area.