Team Herald
VASCO: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar opined that all governments should focus on good governance and not get involved in business activities. Accordingly, his government had decided to renew mining leases, but not by auctioning. He stated that the government was sensitive to the issue of large-scale unemployment after the mining ban in Goa and that his government was looking for opportunities to quickly restart mining.
Parsekar was speaking at the 14th annual general body meeting of Verna Industries Association at Hotel Kesarval, Verna on Friday. He said, “As per the directives of Supreme Court, the government could either auction or renew the leases. People started suggesting that we should go for auctioning as the same would generate more income for the State treasury. We opted for the renewal of leases because the existing mine owners had infrastructure and we were worried about unemployed people. Keeping the government’s benefit aside, we decided to help the people, who can get jobs again after mining operations restart.”
“Levelling allegations about my government’s decision to renew mining leases is easy as calculation of losses can be done anyhow. However, the intention behind the decision is to ensure that Goa is known as an investor or business-friendly state,” said Parsekar, adding, “Despite our attempts to help, only Vedanta started mining operations. It helped the government a lot. Others are yet to do so only because of the decline in the value of ore in the international market. However, mine owners should understand that it is their responsibility to promptly start their business. They should understand that they cannot get profit all the time and they have to go through a recession also. During recessions, a businessman does not close down his business and sit at home.”
