The Karnataka government has ordered the Forest Department not to hand over the 401.57 hectares of virgin forest in Sandur to KIOCL.
HD Kumaraswamy reportedly promised the people of Sandur in 2018 that mining activities would not be allowed in a three-kilometer radius of the Kumaraswamy temple. (Bommanna Yadav/Wikimedia Commons)
The Karnataka government denied approving the handing over of 401.57 hectares of forest land in Ballari to KIOCL for mining. Minister Eshwar Khandre issued the clarification after Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy approved the lease of the land. Kumaraswamy clarified it was a procedural continuation of a decision made in 2017 and the state government had approved the project.