Supreme Court to hear mining baron Janardhana Reddy's plea to travel to Ballari on Friday
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a plea by former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, who has sought permission to travel to Ballari in the state to visit his ailing father-in law.
Reddy, who is accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case and is out on bail, moved the apex court on Thursday.
A vacation bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee agreed to hear his plea on Friday.
The former minister said in his plea that his father-in law has developed a health condition and is presently admitted in the ICU of a hospital at Ballari in Karnataka.
He sought the apex court's permission to visit Ballari as he has been barred by a judicial order from visiting his home district. Reddy was granted conditional bail by the apex court in January 2015 after spending more than three years in jail.
As part of his bail conditions, Reddy was directed by the court not to visit his home town Ballari as well as Ananthapur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.
G Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of the Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011 from Ballari and brought to Hyderabad.
In the OMC case, the company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
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Nearly 700 km of Karnataka rivers polluted; cities, towns depend on contaminated water
Shivamogga: A total of 693.75 of river stretches across Karnataka are polluted, and water from several of these rivers is being supplied to towns and cities, the State government informed the Legislative Assembly.
According to a report published by The New Indian Express on Monday, replying to an unstarred question by Thirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra during the winter session in Belagavi, Forest, Environment and Biodiversity Minister Eshwar Khandre said rivers are classified into five categories, P1 to P5, based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, with P1 being the most polluted.
He reportedly said untreated domestic wastewater from urban and rural areas is the main reason for river pollution. Arkavati, Lakshana Teertha, Tungabhadra, Bhadra, Tunga, Cauvery, Kabini, Kagina, Krishna, Shimsha, Bheema and Netravati are the polluted rivers and so far, 112 polluted drainages along these rivers have been identified.
Khandre explained that rivers are classified into five pollution categories P1 to P5. The Arkavati River has been placed in the P1 category, while no rivers fall under P2 and P3. Tungabhadra, Bhadra and Shimsha are categorised under P4, and eight other rivers fall under P5.
Khandre allegedly said domestic wastewater from municipalities, towns and villages along riverbeds is being discharged into at least 17 rivers, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is the primary cause of river pollution.
According to the report, the minister said drinking water is being supplied from polluted rivers in districts such as Mandya, Ramanagara, Vijayapura and Shivamogga. In parts of Uttara Kannada, Ballari, Vijayanagara and Bagalkot, local bodies are also drawing water from polluted river sources.
In 2022-23, CPCB identified South Pinakini, Aghanashini, Sharavathi and Gangavali rivers too as polluted. But wrote to CPCB, stating that these rivers are not polluted and sought their removal from the list. An action plan is being prepared for the South Pinakini River, he said.
On remedial measures, Khandre reportedly said the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board is setting up sewage treatment plants as per the directions of National Green Tribunal.
As per the report, under 12 river rejuvenation plans, the state generates 817.31 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage. While 41 STPs with a capacity of 614.1 MLD are operational, 203.21 MLD of sewage remains untreated.
Work is underway to establish 19 STPs with a capacity of 248.91 MLD, while 39 more STPs with a combined capacity of 357.92 MLD are in the planning stage. Progress is being monitored and reported regularly to the NGT and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The minister reportedly said the state government gave its approval for underground drainage works worth Rs 535.56 crore in 2021 for 24 cities/towns besides Rs 523.80 crore for nine UGD projects.
