Centre rejects mining project in Karnataka’s Tumakuru reserve forest

The Environment Ministry has rejected an iron and manganese ore mining proposal for diversion of 48.2 ha of forestland for a mining project in reserve forest of Tumakuru in Karnataka after invalid environmental clearances from the National Board for Wildlife came to the fore during site inspection.

Highlighting serious concerns about the project, wildlife activist Giridhar Kulkarni drew the government’s attention to the impact of mining on wildlife. The project site in Thirtharamapura Reserve Forest houses leopard, sloth bear, chital, black-naped hare, barking deer, peafowl, porcupine, jackal, civets and migratory elephants.

The proposal was recommended by the Karnataka Forest Department in May.

The site inspection was conducted on September 23 and 25 by S Senthil Kumar, Deputy Director General of Forests, Central Regional Office, Bengaluru. The report said there were 380 cases of human–wildlife conflict in the region in the period 2015–16 to 2025–26 and mining activity in these forests is likely to intensify human–wildlife conflicts.

The ministry also stated that commercial mining was a prohibited activity within the deemed Eco-Sensitive Zone of Bukkapatna Wildlife Sanctuary.

“The proposed site consists of undulating terrain with hills and valleys, making it susceptible to erosion. A soil and moisture conservation plan, prepared in consultation with the Forest Department, has not been submitted,” the report said.

It also added that mining was carried out in this region for iron and manganese until 1999 and since then, the landscape has undergone natural ecological restoration. The report also underscored that the forest serves as vital watersheds for the region and destruction or degradation of these forests would worsen the area’s existing water scarcity.