By IANS
Hyderabad : In a setback to the ruling Congress, the Andhra Pradesh High Court Friday set aside the mining lease given to Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Gali Janardhan Reddy, known to be close to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy
A single judge bench of the high court set aside the government notification granting mining lease to OMC on 453 acres in Malpanagudi village of Anantapur district bordering Karnataka.
The court’s judgement came on a petition filed by one Shyamprasad, who alleged irregularities in the grant of the lease.
Janardhan Reddy is a member of the Karnataka state legislative council.
The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had alleged corruption in the lease of the mine. An all-party committee had visited the Obulapuram mining area in accordance with an announcement made by the chief minister in the state assembly last month. The TDP, however, was not satisfied with the visit.
The party hailed the court order saying it justified its stand that large-scale irregularities were committed in granting the lease.
TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu said his party had long held that the state was losing revenues of billions of rupees by giving the lease to OMC. He reiterated his demand for calling international tenders for mining rights.
However, Janardhan Reddy said he would challenge the order before a division bench of the high court. He said the court had cancelled only one of the five mining leases his company was holding.