Bengaluru, August 13, 2025: In a significant move to address the challenges faced by the construction industry, a high-level meeting was held at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday to pave the way for new regulations governing red stone mining in Dakshina Kannada and other coastal regions of Karnataka. The meeting, chaired by Legislative Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader and attended by Dakshina Kannada District In-Charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, focused on streamlining legal provisions for red stone mining to support infrastructure and housing projects.
Red stone mining rules; Simplified Licensing Process
Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao directed the Mines and Geology Department to establish a simplified system for issuing red stone mining licenses within a stipulated time frame. “Red stone is essential for construction and housing in the district. We need to ensure licenses are granted promptly to applicants, ideally within a month,” Gundu Rao said. The minister emphasized creating a single-window system to ease the process for non-commercial quarries, addressing long-standing bottlenecks in the sector.
The meeting saw participation from key figures, including Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Mines and Geology Minister S.S. Mallikarjun, Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge, and district in-charge ministers from Uttara Kannada and Udupi, Mankal Vaidya and Laxmi Hebbalkar, respectively. Legislators from various coastal constituencies and senior officials also contributed to the discussions.
Easing Restrictions and Royalties
Speaker U.T. Khader urged officials to address issues related to drilling for construction and land leveling, which currently face restrictive regulations. He instructed the department to reduce royalty rates and ensure regulated mining practices. “The existing 3-meter drilling limit for construction needs to be relaxed to 6 meters to facilitate smoother operations,” Khader noted. The department is preparing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) draft to formalize these changes, with officials committing to finalize it within a week.
The discussions also reviewed past meetings and ongoing efforts to revise regulations, ensuring legal mining operations are accessible without compromising environmental standards. The new rules aim to resolve supply shortages that have impacted construction activities in the region, particularly in Dakshina Kannada, where red stone is a critical resource.
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