Bengaluru: Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) has agreed to comply with key conditions set by the Karnataka government and the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in its bid to restart iron ore mining in Ballari district. The state-owned enterprise has sought 1,196 acres in the Swamimalai block forest of Devadari hill range, a proposal pending since 2019.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre confirmed that KIOCL must pay Rs1,349.52 crore in penalties and hand over 3,300 acres of land before clearance is granted. The company also accepted conditions to transfer 282 acres in Kudremukh to the Forest Department and to forgo its request to value existing buildings, after officials termed them unusable.

KIOCL, which ceased operations in Kudremukh in 2006 following a Supreme Court ban over ecological damage, has faced scrutiny for past violations, including illegally raising the Lakhya dam’s height. It has now pledged to seek forest and wildlife clearances for 973 acres, including 840 acres submerged by the dam, and to provide compensatory land.

The proposed Devadari project would require felling nearly one lakh trees in dense deciduous forests that host leopards, bears, antelopes, and over 300 species of medicinal plants. Though the Forest Department opposed the plan citing “disproportionate harm,” the state government overruled the objections.

Activists in Sandur warn of irreversible ecological damage. “We need a comprehensive impact assessment against the pre-mining baseline. Without it, regulatory compliance is meaningless,” said local campaigner Sreeshaila Aladahalli. With both ecological stakes and industrial interests high, the final decision rests with the Karnataka government.