Govt to come up with new system for leaks

The Karnataka government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that following the Rs 50,000-crore loss it suffered due to the iron ore export ban from the state, it has drafted new rules to plug leaks and the new system will be notified shortly.

The government contradicted the allegations of the iron ore exporters and affirmed that the state action followed the orders of the Lok Auykta in the matter. It wanted two weeks to place the factual position before the court and the judges granted it.

The case will now be heard in the second week of next month. Senior counsel K K Venugopal, representing MSPL, submitted before a bench consisting of Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik that the high court had upheld its right to transport and export iron ore.

The ban imposed by the government after the high court order has affected its export obligations. Some other miners might be conducting illegal excavations, but those who are not violating any law should be allowed to export the ore, he said.

The central government counsel stated that it was concerned only with the export obligations of the companies and would not touch upon the state’s action in this matter.