PANJIM: Mapusa-based NGO Goa Foundation (GF), that had challenged the renewal of 88 iron ore mining leases before the Supreme Court, has pegged the loss to the State exchequer to the tune of Rs 79,836 crore due to illegal renewals granted to the lessees, which were identified as being involved in large scale illegalities in the mining business by the Apex Court.
It further claimed that the State faced a loss of another Rs 65,000 crore due to the failure of the government to recover the amount from the companies, whose mining activities from November 2007 till October 2012 were termed illegal and invalid by the Supreme Court.
“The total loss to the State treasury stands at Rs 1,44,836 crore. The leases have been renewed free of cost, involving iron ore valued at several thousand crores, all belonging to the people and future generations of the State,” GF director Dr Claude Alvares told media persons on Wednesday.
The division bench of the Apex Court on Tuesday concluded final arguments in the petition filed by GF and Sudip Tamankar, challenging the grant of 88 mining leases to several companies and former lease holders. In addition, the Court also heard two separate appeals filed by GF and one Rama Velip challenging the High Court of Bombay at Goa order dated August 13, 2014 directing the State to decide on the applications filed by the various lease holders for grant of further renewals of their leases, which had come to an end on November 22, 2007.
“The act of renewing 88 mining leases for mining in Goa with a total annual production capacity of 44 million tonnes is illegal. It violates the constitutional provisions governing the allocation of natural resources, highlighted by the Supreme Court in the cases of coal block allocations and 2G scam,” Alvares said.
He pointed out that the failure to auction the leases resulted into the net loss of Rs 79,836 crore to the State, at a price of Rs 151 crore per million metric tonnes (calculated as per the rates in 2015 when leases were renewed).
“On the other hand, Karnataka and Orissa governments have earned revenue of Rs 94,478 crore through auction of only 10 leases,” Alvares said, adding apart from the payment of royalty of Rs 27,539 crore.
The petitioner recalled that the Apex Court in its judgment dated April 21, 2014 had declared all mining leases in Goa as invalid from November 22, 2007. “Since the leases had expired, they could not be renewed,” he said.
“It also attracts the provisions of Section 21 (1) (jail term/fine) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as well as 21(5) (recovery of mineral or its value). We estimate the recoverable amount in excess of Rs 65,000 crore,” Alvares said.
“If the Supreme Court rules in our favour, we are going to approach High Court seeking recovery of the amount from the mining companies,” he said.
Alvares said that GF does not have any problems with mining, if done through proper control and in the interest of the people of the State. “But in the present situation, the manner in which the leases are granted, shows that the former lease holders still control everything,” he charged.
The petitioner also challenged before Apex Court the revocation of environmental clearance of 91 leases by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest.
