The truth behind the Govt’s unusual interest in mining companies:

The Govt is getting ready to grant 45 acres of mining lease, to S.R. Minerals, a private company, said to be close to the followers of Chandrababu Naidu.

At the same time, it has trashed the application of APMDC stating that they were yet to get environmental clearance from the Centre. It is actually the Govt’s responsibility to get the necessary clearances for APMDC, from the Centre. The application of Visakha Steel factory was also thrown aside showing as reason,the court cases pertaining to the  borders of the mines.
Y.S.R., when he was alive wanted to give to APMDC which is a Govt concern, the lease to the mines in Obulapuram in Ananthapuram District. But after his death the Govt is preparing to grant the lease to a privately owned SR Minerals.The leaders in the ruling party agree that there is a secret agreement between Congress and TDP that the later will continue to support the Govt in the coming Budget session.
 
It was on Oct27, 2005, that APMDC put in a request for mining  in 25 hectors of forest land, in the Malapanagudi forest land Ananthapur District. SR minerals also applied for mining lease for 18 hectors in the same area on Oct12, 2005. Visakha Steel also applied for the same mining lease. But the YSR Govt decided to grant the lease to APMDC and informed to the former, once on Nov10, 2005 and again on 18Jun, 2007.
After the death of YSR the situation changed. The present Govt decided to give the lease to SR Minerals and rejected APMDC application putting forward a weak reasoning that it had not obtained Forest clearance. Accordingly the Mining Dept sent proposals to allot 18 hectors to SR Minerals, and  7 hectors to APMDC as a sop. The Govt had given oral instructions to the Mining Dept to send the proposals to the Centre for approval. The officials of Mining Dept themselves are astonished that the Govt should undermine a Public Sector Enterprise like Visakha Steel in this manner.
 
Goebbels propaganda in those days and now a mysterious silence!
 Congress and TDP turned the case of Obulapuram Mines into a big controversy during the time of YSR, and prevented the establishment of a big steel factory in the backward region of Rayalaseema.
 It was Chandra Babu Naidu who first allocated the mining lease for Obulapuram mining company. YSR granted lease to the same OMC to mine low grade iron ore to build,  Brahmani steel factory in Kadapa district . But Chandra Babu Naidu carried on a huge campaign from the state to the centre  till the lease was cancelled. The factory came to a stop.  But now when the Govt is granting lease to SR Minerals, which is a private company there is no protest from Chandrababu Naidu.

The Govt allotted the mining lease to SR Minerals with the condition that the iron ore which is mined should be sold to Visakha Steel which is a public sector company in the Centre. But this proposal raises some relevant questions:
·        Why should a private company be given the lease, and then ask that company to sell the ore to Visakha Steel? Why not allot the lease to Visakha Steel directly?
·         Why was APMDC not granted the lease and  be asked to sell the ore to Visakha Steel, as it did in the case of SR Minerals ?
·        The Govt  brought forward the argument that SR Minerals has applied much earlier than APMDC. But why did it ignore the claims of other companies which applied earlier than SR Minerals ?
·        The Govt affirms that one of the reasons that it granted the lease to SR Minerals is that the latter is ready to establish an iron ore benefication  plant with a capacity of two million tons in Rayadurg. But  companies like JK Steel corporation and Sathavahana Ishpath Nigam who applied for the lease much earlier than SR Minerals also had factories.
There is much criticism at the action of the Govt in favouring SR Minerals over and above the claims of other more eligible companies.