The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Karnataka government to clear stand on export of extracted iron ore in the state saying either it has to be consumed or sold.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek instructions on the issue and file response by April 8.
The top also directed the Central Empowered Committee, appointed by SC, and the monitoring committee to submit a status report indicating the approximate available quantity of iron ore on ground.
"There is no meaning of keeping extracted iron on the ground. Either it has to be consumed, sold or taken off the ground. Let us first clear the ground then we will see what to do. By virtue of that, the state government and development fund may get some money," said the bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli.
The apex court had earlier refused to lift the ban on export of iron ore pellets from Karnataka-based miners.
While private miners had sought lifting of ban on iron ore exports, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) had ruled out any possibility of allowing export of iron ore pellets from Karnataka.
The apex court has been passing orders since 2009 in a PIL filed by NGO, 'Samaj Parivartana Samudaya', which had alleged various irregularities in mining activities in the state.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU