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The Belekeri port scam relates to 3.5 million tons of confiscated iron ore that was exported illegally from
Belekeri port Belekeri is a village in Ankola, Karnataka, India, and is known for its fish. It is approximately 6 km from Ankola. Its industrial port is used for shipping iron ore and manganese to various destinations, including China.The port came to ...
near
Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...
in
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. After Deputy Conservator of Forests R. Gokul seized the ore and the high court refused to permit it to be exported, a large part of it was surreptitiously exported from the port. After persistent protests and public pressure, Karnataka Chief Minister
Yeddyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...
, who was balancing political considerations with control of corruption, admitted to an illegal iron-ore export racket at Belekeri Port involving 35 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore. It is said that the scam was worth an estimated 60,000 crore rupees (US$12 billion). This iron ore from the Bellary region is alleged to have been illegally mined after paying a minuscule royalty to the government. The major irregularities involve mines in Bellary, including those of
Obulapuram Mining Company Obulapuram Mining Company also known as OMC or OMCPL is an iron ore mining company located in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India. The company is owned by the brothers, G. Karunakara Reddy, G. Janardhana Reddy and G. Somashekara Reddy, who w ...
owned by
G. Karunakara Reddy G. Karunakara Reddy (born 10 April 1962) is an Indian politician from the state of Karnataka, who is the member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Harapanahalli assembly constituency. He was made Revenue Minister in Second B. S. Yeddyura ...
and
G. Janardhana Reddy Gali Janardhana Reddy (born 11 January 1967) is an Indian industrialist and politician affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Born Reddy was born on 11 January 1967. He has two brothers, G. Karunakara Reddy and G. Somashekara Reddy, ...
, who were ministers in the
Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...
during
B. S. Yeddyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...
's tenure. A report constituted by the Lokayukta uncovered major violations and
systemic corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
in mining in Bellary, including in the allowed geography, encroachment of forest land, massive underpayment of state mining royalties relative to the market price of iron ore and systematic starvation of government mining entities. This report was finalized and prepared with inputs from the Income Tax Department's Commissionerate of Central Circle. Justice
N. Santosh Hegde Nitte Santosh Hegde (born 16 June 1940) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, former Solicitor General of India and was Lokayukta (ombudsman) for Karnataka State of India from 2006 to 2011. Early life Santosh Hegde was born in a Tulu ...
resigned from the
Lokayukta The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) ( ''lokāyukta'', ''"civil commissioner"'') is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state, after passi ...
position on 23 June 2010 after an officer (Deputy Conservator of Forests R Gokul) was suspended by order of minister J. Krishna Palemar and he felt powerless to help. He expressed inability to be effective in his anti-corruption mandate owing to a non-cooperative Government of Karnataka. Amid media speculation that the ports minister Krishna Palemar had recommended Gokul's suspension on behalf of some politicians with business interests, Palemar defended his recommendation to suspend Gokul, saying Gokul had failed to attend a meeting, and "this raised suspicions that he too might have had a role to play in this particular incident. Because of this I recommend that he be placed under suspension". Hegde's resignation sought to underline the helplessness of the advisory post of the Lokayukta in such situations. The resignation has brought considerable public attention on the scam, whose existence the government has also been forced to admit.


Related road damage, accidents and loss of lives

The lack of effective regulation in the mining and transport of iron ore has adversely impacted road safety in addition to the loss of revenue and environmental denudation due to
illegal mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission, in particular in absence of land rights, mining licenses, and exploration or mineral transportation permits. Illegal mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the cas ...
. Overloaded trucks carrying ore have caused hundreds of fatal accidents on the roadways leading to ports such as Belekeri. As many as 114 accidents were reported in 2007, and 174 in 2008. There are also reports of severe damage to the roads in Karnataka, including national highways
NH-17 National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway (India), National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to t ...
,
NH-48 National Highway 48 (NH 48) is a National Highway of India that starts at Delhi and terminates at Chennai traversing through seven states of India. It has a total length of 2807 km (1744 miles). NH 48 passes through the states of Delhi ...
and NH-63, near Shimoga.


Lokayukta report of July 2011

This report was finalized and prepared with inputs from the Income Tax Department's Commissionerate of Central Circle. The chapter 2 of the Lokayukta Report on illegal mining in Karnataka details the method in which the Belekeri Port was the anchor point of export of illegally mined iron ore. The report mentions the involvement of private companies – Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd (SMSPL), Adani Enterprises Ltd, Salgaonkar Mining Industries Pvt Ltd, Dream Logistics Company India Pvt.Ltd and Raj Mahal Silks in large scale illegal exports of ore.


See also

*
Indian political scandals The following is a ''list of proven scandals in India'' since independence, including political, financial and corporate scandals. The year, or decade, is when the scandal was first reported. 1940s * 1947 - INA treasure chest disappearance * ...
*
Corruption Perceptions Index The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...
*
Rent seeking Rent-seeking is the act of growing one's existing wealth without creating new wealth by manipulating the social or political environment. Rent-seeking activities have negative effects on the rest of society. They result in reduced economic effic ...
*
Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belekeri Port Scam Corruption in Karnataka Illegal mining in India History of Karnataka (1947–present)