Quarry, crusher owners accuse govt of kickbacks

Belagavi: The Federation of Karnataka Quarry and Stone Association which has been on an indefinite work strike for 12 days, alleged on Tuesday that the government took kickbacks from quarry and crusher associations in neighbouring states for supply of raw material.
According to federation, 80% of raw material is supplied for government projects such as roads and bridges. Since the federation stopped operations, these projects had suffered.
The federation has been on strike demanding scrapping of the double royalty system imposed by the government. Now, it has accused the government of allowing crusher and quarry owners in Maharashtra, Andhra and Kerala to supply raw materials after taking kickbacks. Sanjeev Hattiholi, president of FKQSA, said the government was enforcing a faulty policy. “We will not withdraw our strike until the government takes back double royalty,” he said.
Last week, thousands associated with the industry protested on the premises of SVS. Mines and geology minister Achar Halappa assured the agitators of resolving the issue. Office-bearers said they had got no response since then.