'Rs 1056 cr forest devpt tax due from 71 mining contractors'

Forest Development Tax dues of Rs 1056.04 crore needs to be recovered from 71 mining contractors following orders of the Karnataka High Court, Minister for Forest and Environment B Ramanath Rai said today.
Of the total contractors, 69 belong to Ballari and the remaining two to Chitradurga district, he said in the Legislative Council, which is holding its monsoon session here.
As per the detailed statement furnished by the minister, major dues are from V S Lad & Sons Rs 99,33,44,057, H G Rangangouda Rs 62,99,5,292 and Kumarswamy Minerals Exports Pvt Ltd Rs 51,33,90,849.
The total dues from Ballari district is Rs 991,11,93,678 while from Chitradurga it is Rs 64,92,552,996, the statement said.

A final demand notice has been sent to all contractors at default, the minister said.
However, the High Court has issued a stay order on a writ petition filed by the contractors, Rai said during question hour.