Bengaluru: Even as the war of words between Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambarish and JD(S) leaders over illegal stone quarrying and other mining units continues unabated, Minister for Mines and Geology Halappa Achar said that the license of 42 stone quarrying units in Mandya district stands cancelled for various irregularities.

Replying to a question by JD(S) MLC Marithibbegowda during the ongoing Legislature Session here yesterday, Achar maintained that legal stone quarrying units conducting operations as per norms in Mandya have not been stopped. Stating that 42 mining licenses have been cancelled in Mandya following a decision by the District Task Force Committee on Mines, he said that there are 97 legal stone quarrying/mining units in the district. 

Giving a break up of legal mines functioning in Mandya district, he said that Nagamangala has the highest number of stone quarrying units (34) followed by Srirangapatna (17), Maddur (16), Mandya and Pandavapura (8  each) and K.R.Pet (6). This apart, there are 2 granite stone units at Nagamangala, one each in Malavalli and Srirangapatna, a Felsite Mining unit at Srirangapatna and a Quartz mining unit in K.R. Pet.

A total of 45 cases have been registered in Mandya including 27 in Srirangapatna, 12 in Pandavapura and 3 in Maddur for unauthorised mining and stone crushing, he said. License has been issued for mining of 18,98,832 Metric Tons (MT) of stone in 2020-21 and 9,47,625 MT till Aug.8 (2021-22) in the district.