Officials should not confine themselves to office work but make regular field visits and maintain strict surveillance at check-posts to prevent illegal mining and transportation of minerals, Ballari Deputy Commissioner K. Nagendra Prasad said on Friday.

Chairing a meeting of the District Task Force of the District Sand Committee and the District Authority for Licensing and Regulation of Stone Crushing Units at his office in Ballari, he directed officials to strengthen daily monitoring and joint inspections, particularly in Sandur, where a majority of the district’s mining activities are concentrated.

“Surveillance should cover not only mining lease areas but also the movement of ore entering and leaving the district. The functioning and accuracy of weighbridges and check-posts should be thoroughly verified to prevent any leakage,” he said.

He directed the officials to submit a proposal to establish a camp office of the Department of Mines and Geology at Sandur to facilitate on-the-spot monitoring and reduce the need for officials to travel daily between Ballari and Sandur.

According to Deputy Director of Mines and Geology Ram G. Naik, Ballari has been assigned a revenue collection target of ₹6,250 crore for 2026–27 from major minerals, accounting for about 78% of the State’s overall target of ₹8,000 crore. Against a target of ₹5,200 crore in 2025–26, the district had collected ₹4,922 crore, achieving 96% of the target.

As of the end of July this year, the district had collected ₹1,345.46 crore against the progressive target of ₹2,250 crore, achieving 59.8%. Revenue collection in July was about ₹28 crore higher than in the previous three months, he said.

Mr. Prasad instructed them to expedite the revival of non-operational mining leases and provide the necessary facilities for mining operations while ensuring that mining activities did not adversely affect the environment and biodiversity.

“Of the 89 quarry leases for building stone, decorative stone, murram, and sand in the district, 59 are currently operational while 30 are inactive. Officials should inspect quarries that have remained inactive for more than a year and initiate action to cancel their leases as per the rules and bring the land back under government control for re-auction,” he said.

He said the nine check-posts in the district would be developed as model inspection stations equipped with CCTV cameras, weighbridge integration, and sample-testing facilities. The movement of vehicles, mineral weight, quality, and transport permits should be monitored through a digital and transparent system, he said.

Regarding NMDC’s ore transportation, Mr. Prasad directed the Mines and Geology Department to issue an official notice to the company to augment the capacity of its conveyor-belt infrastructure. He said road transportation of ore should be completely stopped as per the Supreme Court’s directions, and ore should be transported through conveyor belts and railway sidings.

“The officials should initiate a survey to identify sand and gravel available in riverbeds, tanks and government land and notify suitable locations for legal extraction. Applications for sand extraction from patta lands should be scrutinised and disposed of expeditiously as per the rules,” Mr. Prasad said.

He also directed the formation of joint task forces comprising officials from the Revenue, Police, Forest, and Mines and Geology Departments at the district and taluk levels to conduct surprise raids at least once a week and intensify night patrolling with police assistance to prevent illegal transportation.

Superintendent of Police Suman D. Pennekar said a special control room would be established to improve coordination between the district administration and the police. Teams of officials would be linked to the control room to receive public complaints and initiate immediate action, she added.

Published - August 14, 2026 08:56 pm IST