Hubli, Apr 18 (IANS): Governor H.R. Bhardwaj said Monday that his concerns over illegal mining in the state were not taken seriously by the state government, which is now facing the heat from the Supreme Court on the issue.

"I had raised the issue with the government but nothing was done," Bhardwaj told reporters in this north Karnataka town, about 300 km from Bangalore.

On the Supreme Court-appointed panel finding that Karnataka had become number one in illegal mining, he said: "Is there any doubt?"

He, however, said he would not like to make further comment on the findings as the issue "is now between the government and judicial forum".

"The judicial forum will decide," said Bhardwaj, who has been critical of the first Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka over several issues.

The apex court's Central Empowered Committee in its report to the court last Friday said illegal mining in Karnataka was on "a colossal scale". In monetary terms, the illegal iron ore export between 2003 and 2010 from Karnataka would be around Rs.15,245 crore ($3 billion), it has said.

The committee was appointed following a petition by an NGO for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into illegal mining in the state. The next hearing is on April 21.