The Kiran Reddy government on Monday decided to cancel the lease of Bayyaram iron ore mines spread across three
mandals in Khammam district. Around 1.4 lakh acres of land was leased to a joint venture of AP Minerals Development
Corporation Ltd (APMDCL) and Rakshana Steels for iron ore mining. The TDP had linked Rakshana Steels to a member
of the YSR family. The land is situated in Bayyaram, Garla and Nelakondapally mandals in Khammam district. Incidentally,
the huge tract bearing iron ore was given to Rakshana Steels on the lines of the bauxite agreement that APMDCL had
signed with Anrak in Visakhapatanam district in 2007. The GO ratifying the joint venture of APMDCL and Rakshana
Steels in 2009 explicitly mentioned the Anrak bauxite agreement. So, the cancellation of the Bayyaram joint venture
should put a question mark on the bauxite project in Visakhapattanam as well, state government sources said.
