Rs. 18 cr. for protecting water-table

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JUNE 20. The Minister for Mines and Geology, Mr. V. Muniyappa, has called upon geologists to step up implementation of projects to check the depletion of the water-table in several parts of the State.

Speaking at the 34th meeting of the State Geological Programming Board here on Wednesday, he said the Government had granted Rs. 18 crores this year for constructing structures for recharging groundwater.

He said that in view of the demand for water for agriculture, domestic and industrial purposes, there was over-exploitation of groundwater in many parts of South and North Interior Karnataka. The people of those areas depended on groundwater, resulting in the depletion of the water-table, which should be prevented, he added.

Mr. Muniyappa said the Department of Mines and Geology had taken up construction of structures for recharging groundwater, and the results were encouraging. Work on building such structures at a cost of Rs. 18 crores would commence soon, he added.

The minister said the State had rich reserves of iron ore, manganese and chromite. The production of iron ore had increased from 113 lakh tonnes to 120 lakh tonnes, manganese from 3.5 lakh tonnes to 4.20 lakh tonnes, and chromite from 32,000 tonnes to 78,000 tonnes. The State also had deposits of low-grade iron ore, he said and added that these should be exploited to earn more foreign exchange. He urged geologists and scientists to prepare a time-bound agenda for exploration, to identify new deposits.

Mr. Muniyappa said the total reserves of limestones and dolomites in the State were in the order of 20,000 million tonnes. These were spread in Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts. Although there were major cement plants in Northern Karnataka, no such plant had been set up in the southern districts. The requirement of cement in those districts was being met by supplies from the neighbouring States. Therefore, the board should take up investigation to provide precise information on the quality and quantity of limestone available in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, he added.

Mr. Muniyappa said though the State had large resources of granite, these were not being exploited fully. While there was no ban on granting mining leases in forest areas for major minerals, there was no provision in the rules for granting permission for granite quarries in such areas. To encourage the granite industry, the Government was considering granting leases for extracting ornamental granite, after securing clearance under Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The minister, however, urged geologists to ensure that their projects caused no harm to the environment. Exploitation of mineral resources should not affect the ecological balance, he said.

Mr. Muniyappa appealed to them to give importance to the environmental impact assessment studies and implement their findings. No importance was being given to this aspect, and there was, therefore, opposition to mining, he said.

He urged geologists to computerise technical information and maps that were available in the department.

Mr. R. Suresh, Secretary, Mines, SSI and Textiles, Mr. B.S. Patil, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industry, and Dr. M. Basappa Reddy, Director, Mines and Geology and Member-Secretary of the State Geological Programming Board, spoke.

The primary task of the board is to coordinate the programmes of the organisations which undertake exploration for minerals. The proceedings of the board are recorded at the Central Geological Programming Board and the Planning Commission.

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