MP Ballari Tukaram seeks Centre’s intervention to settle Karnataka-Andhra border dispute
Ballari MP E. Tukaram during a meeting in Ballari. Photo file. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Ballari Lok Sabha member E. Tukaram has sought the Centre’s intervention to ensure an impartial survey and demarcation of the inter-state boundary between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the Ballari region, particularly in respect of an area of about 68.5 hectares leased to the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC).
In identical letters dated September 23 to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Inter-State Council Secretariat Secretary Ashish Srivastava, Mr. Tukaram sought the intervention of a competent central authority or agency to look into the border issue in coordination with the governments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the Survey of India.
The MP said that the area of 68.5 hectares covered by OMC Lease-6 was shown on the Survey of India chart and the subsequent Mining Leases 1 to 5 around boundary pillars 62 to 67. He said the issue related to historical survey records, village boundaries, transit data and identification of inter-state boundaries in connection with mining or iron mining and alleged mining irregularities mining or leasing.
According to Mr. Tukaram, the OMC Lease-6 records indicate an area of approximately 68.5 hectares, while the traverse data used in the preparation of mining area boundaries 1 to 5 adopted the new internal survey boundary. He said the village boundaries depicted or prepared by the Andhra Pradesh Survey Department do not correspond to the boundary location shown in historical records.
He asked to examine the historical records of the survey, including OS No. 387/1965 and the 1896 map of the Ballari Forest Reserve, along with the original records and certified copies of the relevant survey documents.
Comparison of old and current records
Mr. Tukaram also called for reconciliation of the 1896 Ballari reserve forest map, 1990 geographic contour guidelines and current survey records. He said the 1990 guidelines had been adopted by both states and that the right-of-way data used for mining leases 1 to 5 needed to be reconciled with the currently accepted interstate boundary for the 68.5 hectare area.
He specifically pointed to boundary pillars 62 to 67, saying their exact location was significant to the dispute. He noted that there are different claims regarding the pillars, the historical boundary and contemporary survey records. He suggested that the relevant authorities fix the location of the pillars with reference to the original records and sketches and consider a modern survey or joint survey using the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) to prepare a verified boundary map.
The MP also pointed to allegations of mining and transportation of iron ore from the Sandur-Ballari cluster by extension to the subject area. He alleged that public resources were being mined by some companies and forest lands encroached beyond the legally demarcated lease area on the interstate border without necessary authorization, resulting in loss to the exchequer.
Published – 26 Sep 2026 18:56 IST