The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), belonging to the Reddy brothers, to resume mining in the undisputed region in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan allowed OMC to start mining operations within 150 meters of the Andhra border.
The apex court, however, clarified that mining by OMC should be carried out only in the undisputed area of the lease granted by the Andhra Pradesh government.
Meanwhile, the court also directed Reddy brothers to stop mining if the Survey of India asks them to temporarily discontinue operations while surveying the region for demarcation of boundary between the two states.
"Whenever, the Survey of India would say to stop you (OMC) from mining, you would have to stop," the court said.
The bench also directed the Survey of India to complete the process of demarcating the border between the two sates--Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh--within two months.
In its order, the court also directed the Karnataka government to appoint officials from the forest and mining departments to assist the committee appointed by it in demarcating the boundary between the two states.
The apex court had on March 22 banned mining of iron ores by OMC and appointed anted a committee comprising officials of the Survey of India, the forest, irrigation and revenue departments of Andhra Pradesh, besides representatives of the Reddy brothers to look into allegations of illegal mining and violation of leased areas.
The Reddy brothers, who own mining leases for over 136 hectares of land spread in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, are accused of encroaching on reserve forest lands. PTI
