10-member team to visit 3 districts

CHITRAGURGA: A team of 10 technical experts attached to the Environment Management Division of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) will visit Chitradurga, Bellary and Tumkur districts from January 5 to 12 to study the impact of mining on environment in the areas.DC Vipul Bansal told Express on Wednesday that the team would conduct a survey and prepare reclamation and rehabilitation plans for the mining-affected areas. The SC had entrusted the work to the ICFRE, he said.Team members Pankaj Agarwal (ADG EM), Dr N Rama Rao (scientist), Sudhir Kumar (scientist), Dr H B Vasistha (scientist), S K Agrawal (domain expert), Yamesh Sharma (domain expert), A Hadi (domain expert), Dr M N Rajaramanna, Anish V Pachu and Somashekharan, led by ICFRE Director General V K Bahuguna, would visit various spots and would hold discussions with the state and district-level officials, after which a final draft plan for rehabilitation would be submitted to the SC, he said.The team that landed in Bangalore on Wednesday would visit Bellary district first and later, the team members would visit Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, he added.Sources in the Mines and Geology Department said they did not know exact details of the team’s visit, but they were prepared with all required information.It may be recalled that acting on the suggestions made by the Central Empowered Committee, the Supreme Court banned all mining activities in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts on August 28, 2011. After which, the court directed the ICFRE team to conduct a survey and submit a plan for the rehabilitation of the mining-effected areas.