Survey to ascertain Karnataka-AP boundary, destroyed by mining in Ballari forest, begins tomorrow

Ballari: The process of re-identification of the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh inter-state boundaries destroyed by alleged rampant illegal mining in the Ballari reserve forest will begin on Friday, senior officials said. The boundary-marking will take place as per Supreme Court orders, said the officials. A team of experts from Survey of India will arrive in Ballari to take up the work, they said. The experts will be accompanied by a team of senior officials from the Revenue Departments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the officials said. The inter-state boundary markers crossing the Ballari reserve forest are missing, they said. Many of the border markers in the villages of Tumati, Vithalapur, Malappanagudi and Siddapur villages have been destroyed. Justice N Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta, who had investigated into the illegal mining, had confirmed the destruction of the boundary marking in his report on such mining. Many social and political activists had approached the Supreme Court to investigate into the destruction of the boundary markers. The petitioners had argued that the illegal mining probe at the border won’t be completed without restoring the inter-state boundary markers. Following this, the Supreme Court had ordered the Survey of India to mark the inter-state boundary. For two years, the officials of the Survey of India, along with officials from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, had conducted surveys several times to ascertain the exact location of the border, sources said. According to the sources, a report would be submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday.