Singh of the Jungle

The rumor mill in the mining industry has it that whenever UV Singh leaves his house, he locks up his wife and makes sure that each window is properly shut. Why? To make sure that none can get to his wife and offer money so that she could influence her husband to be “more lenient.”

True or not; if it is the fear of being bribed or for his family’s safety, one doesn’t know.  But the buzz around the Chief Conservator of Forests from Karnataka is strong enough for many such yarns to be weaved around him. When I recently asked an official from the Orissa mining industry on how things were, he replied – “Oh, everything has been shut down, UV Singh is coming!” And they would be wary because Singh is known to be unpredictable, travelling alone and sometimes in disguise.

Singh is nowadays busy investigating, as part of the MB Shah Commission, allegations of illegal mining in Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

It is not easy to instill fear, respect and hatred all at the same time in India’s mining industry, perceived as spoilt and arrogant by many. But the government official has managed to that. Earlier Singh was part of the team under Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde that investigated illegal mining in Bellary. As an Indian Express reported in August 2011 - “U V Singh” figures 333 times, next only to “iron ore” itself, in Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s 466-page indictment of illegal mining.” The report itself was so thorough that it needed 24, 762 pages of “supplementary material!”

The thoroughness in work has become a habit for Singh. A zoologist by education, Singh’s doctorate thesis was on insect hormones and he used to spend long hours, patiently watching birds and studying behavior. The patience and endurance came into play when his team travelled across Karnataka’s iron ore rich regions to find minute details on movement of trucks, miners trespassing and unraveling politician-miner nexus in the state.

The love for nature might be one reason why some in the mining industry call him an “environment fundamentalist in the garb of government servant.” But words or physical attacks have not deterred Singh. In February last year, Singh and his colleagues from Karnataka State pollution Board were attacked by a civic administrator. Singh was probing if the administrator had allowed a company owned by his brother to dump waste in Nagawara lake.

Action now has shifted to the mines. The interim report by the Shah Commission already has miners in Goa sweating. The Commission has recommended a complete ban on mining in the state. The final report though has been delayed. And the local Congress-headed state government would want the report, which has indicated that local ministers are involved in illegal mining, to be tabled after the assembly elections get over in March. Miners from the state would also like the delay to get some breathing space as Singh has mentioned that it is not just illegal mining but allegations of environmental and tribal wrongdoings are also being looked into.

As Singh and the rest of the Shah Commission team travel around the mines in the country, the miners themselves should be forewarned. Please don’t go by Singh’s looks, his soft-spoken ways or the loose fitting shirt and trouser. Just ask Somashekhar Reddy, one of the three inglorious brothers of Bellary; and no, this time, the incident is for real.

In September 2009 when Singh visited Bellary, Reddy, trying to intimidate the government official, asked if he had taken permission to enter the district. A nonplussed Singh replied, “I’m a citizen of India, I don’t require permission to go anywhere.”

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.