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New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) In a relief to mining barons Reddy brothers, the Supreme Court Monday permitted them to resume their mining activities in the undisputed area in Andhra Pradesh's Obulapuram.The court said that the mining activity would be 150 metres away from the Karnataka border and would not touch the disputed area where different mining leases are overlapping.A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice B.S. Chauhan said that the Reddy brothers' Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) would undertake mining activity in accordance with the maps submitted to the court by the Survey of India.The court asked the Survey of India to complete the demarcation of six mining leases within two months.The Survey of India in its earlier report to the apex court had pointed out the need for re-demarcation of the six mining leases operating in the area. Of the six mining leases in the area, three belong to the Reddy brothers.The order written by Justice Verma said that the OMC would cease its operations as and when the Survey of India starts its work on the mapping and demarcation of the area.The order also asked the Karnataka government to fence off the disputed area of its border with Andhra Pradesh.The mining operations in the area had come to a halt after an apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on environmental matters said the Reddy brothers were mining beyond their leased area and were encroaching upon a part of Bellary forests in Karnataka.During the last hearing, the Survey of India pointed to encroachment by the OMC but said these were marginal and in the absence of a clear demarcation of the border these were in dispute.Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi appearing for the OMC argued that since there was no clear demarcation of the border, the business of the Reddy brothers could not be choked.The court too agreed with the plea and indicated that mining could be permitted in the undisputed area.The court last week reserved orders on the plea of the Reddy brothers to allow them iron ore mining in Obulapuram on the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka border.The three Reddy brothers -- Gali Karunakar Reddy, Gali Janardhan Reddy and Gali Soma Shekhar Reddy -- are considered politically influential. Their company is engaged in mining and transportation of iron ore in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Of the three brothers, two -- Janasthan Reddy and Karunakar Reddy -- are cabinet ministers in the BJP-ruled Karnataka government.
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