The Supreme Court on Friday raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining for Bellary, Chitradurga, and Tumkur districts in Karnataka, saying conservation of the ecology and environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development.   The apex court raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining from 28 MMT to 35 MMT for Bellary district, and from 7 MMT to 15 MMT for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.

“Conservation of the ecology and the environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development and the fine balance between the two goals is what is sought to be achieved even now,” the bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said. The bench, also comprising Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar, passed the order on pleas seeking lifting of the ceiling limits of iron ore mining in these districts.

It referred to the May 20, 2022 order passed by the apex court which had granted certain reliefs relating to the sale and export of iron ore in these three districts in Karnataka and had left open the question of lifting or relaxation of the ceiling limit for production of iron ore there.

The bench referred to the history of ceiling limits on the production of iron ore through court orders and noted that on July 29, 2011, and August 26, 2011, the apex court had imposed a ban on mining in these three districts based on the report of the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC).

 The bench noted that in 2017, Karnataka had submitted before it that the ceiling limit may be raised to 40 MMT, and gradually increased later to 50 MMT. “However, the state of Karnataka is now in favour of a complete removal of the ceiling limit,” it said.

The top court said it appeared that the CEC, the state, the Ministry of Steel, Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association, and mining lease holders are all “ad idem” (in agreement) that the changed situation on ground warrants a complete removal of ceiling limits that were imposed by the court. It said advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the original petitioner, has objected to the request for the lifting of the ceiling limit, on principles. The bench said the concerns of the original petitioner and the monitoring committee merit due consideration.