The Supreme Court has directed a committee to conduct a deeper investigation into illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh, focusing on encroachments on reserved forest land and financial losses to the state. The court extended the committee's deadline by six months to complete its report. This follows a petition by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a 2010 high court decision.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court instructed a high-level committee, headed by former judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, to delve deeper into illegal mining activities in Andhra Pradesh. The committee, formed on September 19, 2025, was originally tasked with demarcating boundaries of mining leases and reserved forests within three months. With that period expired, the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi granted a six-month extension.
The court's order emphasizes identifying companies that encroached beyond their lease areas into reserved forests, assessing overlaps between lease boundaries and forest lands, and evaluating the scale of illegal mining. It also seeks details on the estimated losses to the public exchequer from these activities.
This directive arises from a petition by the Andhra Pradesh government against a 2010 Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling that overturned the state's suspension of mining in six leases, including those held by the Reddy brothers of Bellary. The committee includes a member from the Central Empowered Committee, three state secretaries from departments of Industries and Commerce (Mines), Environment, Forest, Science and Technology, and Revenue, plus a nominee from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the state, supported the extension request. Advocate Prashant Bhushan highlighted rampant illegal mining along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, noting a 2010 iron ore mining ban in Karnataka's Bellary, Tumkur, and Chitradurga districts. The Central Bureau of Investigation probed these issues, filing charge sheets in an Andhra Pradesh court, with one case resulting in convictions, though penalty details remain unclear.
Previously, boundaries were demarcated with assistance from the Surveyor General of India. Mining firms like Obulapuram Mining Corporation Private Limited and Ananthpur Mining Company, associated with the Reddy brothers, opposed the committee's formation.
