Law dealing with mining is weak: DCF Gokul

KARWAR: Karwar Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) R Gokul, who has been transferred to Bannerghatta National Park, felt that the law was weak in dealing with      illegal mining and encroachment of forest land                        for mining. In an interaction with reporters here on Wednesday, he pointed out that illegal mining is treated as non-cognizable offence whereas slapping a person is cognizable. He felt the Forest Protection Act should be amended and made stronger.  Gokul said that March to June in 2010 was the most challenging time during his tenure in Karwar. It was during this period that he was assigned the task of investigating the illegal transportation of iron ore fine to Karwar and Belekeri ports. The DCF was shot to fame after former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, offered to resign, protesting against the transfer of Gokul soon after he seized nearly 8.5 lakh tonnes of iron ore fine illegally stacked at Belekeri and Karwar ports. Gokul was the part of the investigation instituted by the Lokayukta at both the ports. He had also detected theft of nearly 5 lakh tonnes of the seized iron ore at these ports.Gokul, who was handpicked by the chief investigating officer U V Singh for the investigation, said that it all started with the seizure of 24 iron ore-laden lorries on National Highway-63, on charges of overloading and transporting on fake permits. This led to verification of the iron ore stacked at the ports. In the next stage, a report in a local newspaper about missing of the seized iron ore alerted forest officials, he said.Gokul said that he had a difficult time convincing various departments, including the Revenue, Police, Mines and Geology Departments and the Road Transport Authority, that the iron ore was being illegally stacked at the ports. A lot of homework had to be done and documents had to be verified to establish it in the court. Once, his vehicle was chased by another one during midnight, while he was returning to Karwar from Sirsi, as a pressure tactic during the investigation. Other than that incident, he functioned without pressure from any quarters, Gokul said. He remembered the support of the media and the general public during his stay and the investigation here.He said that he was slapped with a defamation case by the Mangalore Port Trust and asked to compensate the loss to the port by paying `3 crore, when he stated that illegal transportation of iron ore had taken place to Mangalore port too, and the transportation of the ore to that port too should be stopped. However, he was acquitted of the charges in court.