Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Monday, March 30, wrote to the Telangana Governor urging him to recommend a High Court-monitored investigation into illegal mining operations in the state, alleging that the ruling Congress government was shielding those responsible, including a sitting minister.
In a representation submitted to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, the BRS MLAs and MLCs alleged that large-scale illegal mining and stone crushing operations were being carried out in open violation of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, and that the state government’s inaction amounted to “tacit approval and complicity.”
The party named Minister of Information and Public Relations Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy in its letter, alleging that the state was shielding individuals in positions of authority and that the law was being applied selectively based on political proximity, in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.
CB-CID inquiry compromised: BRS
The BRS also questioned the state government’s decision to hand over the matter to the CB-CID, calling it a “compromised exercise.” Since the CB-CID functions under the control of the state executive, it cannot impartially investigate allegations involving a sitting minister, the party said, adding that the move amounted to an institutional conflict of interest.
The Opposition party also alleged that the illegal mining was not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of irregularities spanning civil supplies, infrastructure contracts, AMRUT tenders, Singareni coal operations, power sector dealings, excise policies, land registrations and large-scale land transactions.
The BRS also invoked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s stated assurance on the Floor of the Legislative Assembly that any written allegation of a scam would be subjected to inquiry, arguing that ordering an executive-controlled investigation defeated that very assurance.
Three demands to Governor
In its representation, the party made three specific requests to the Governor; he recommend a comprehensive investigation supervised by a sitting High Court judge, that the scope of the inquiry cover both illegal mining and the wider pattern of alleged irregularities and that the investigation be time-bound, transparent and free from executive interference, with losses to the public exchequer recovered in accordance with law.
