Govt will not implement mining report: Hegde

Former Karnataka Lok Ayukta N Santosh Hegde on Saturday said he did not believe the government would implement his report on illegal mining, as “many skeletons will fall off (its) cupboard”. The former ombudsman urged for an independent panel to probe the report further and implement it.

“Do you think the government will ever implement the report?” the former Supreme Court Judge asked, expressing pessimism over the BJP government acting on the report submitted on July 27 when he was the Lok Ayukta. Four days later, on July 31, B S Yeddyurappa had resigned as chief minister after being indicted in the report. The report estimated the loss because of illegal mining between 2006 and 2010 at more than Rs 16,000 crore.

The government headed by Yeddyurappa’s successor D V Sadananda Gowda has appointed a committee led by additional chief secretary K Jairaj to study the findings, asking it to submit a report in two months. Even as the government says it would take a view on the Lokayukta report after this committee gave its report, Hegde remains unimpressed, indicating the change of guard at the helm does not inspire him to believe that something would come out of it. “Somebody else (not the committee) should take over the responsibility. There should be an independent commission to probe this. Too many skeletons will fall off the cupboard (if the report is implemented),” said Hegde.