Bengaluru: The Congress-led government which came to power assuring to curb illegal mining in the state has failed miserably. The report submitted by the state department of mines and geology to the central government indicates that on an average, 22 cases are reported daily pertaining to illegal mining in the state.

After Congress government took reins, 10895 vehicles were seized and 31850 cases booked during the last 4 years. In all, 1439 FIRs were registered of which 439 are pending judgement in courts according to the statistics available with the state department of mines and geology. A total of Rs 95 Crore cash too was seized during the said period, indicating the glaring lapses by the state administration in handling the “core issue.”

Illegal mining is rampant in the districts of Bellary, Chitradurga, Mysore and Gadag, says the report. Despite courts instructing the government to take stringent action against illegal mining by enforcing the 1957 Act , the latter seems to be totally apathetic.

From 2013 to 2017, a number of complaints have been filed against officials of the Department of Home, Revenue, Mining and Geology departments, for not taking action to protect the dwindling natural resources, states the report.

In all, 8509 cases of illegal mining were reported in 2013-14, 8464 during 2014-15, 9185 cases in 2015-16 and 5692 during 2016-17. This clearly suggests the failure of the government in curbing the menace. The government appears to have agreed to the fact that an average of 22 cases of illegal mining are reported in the state, (taking the average from the total number of cases). Little respite has come only in terms of the decline in the number of offences last year.

The illegal mining has provided sufficient room for accumulation of illegal wealth, while causing extensive damage to the environment.