Say their future is unclear due to state, central government policies
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Goa Mining People Front on Thursday urged the BJP-led government to set up the mining development corporation as directed by the apex court, for mining and sale of ore, saying mining-dependent people are still uncertain about their future due to unclear policies of the state and central governments after the Supreme Court order.
GMPF, an umbrella organization of mining-dependent people, said people will never pardon the mining companies for their illegalities and the state and central government for the sudden suspension of mining activities. Members of the organizations were also critical of what they called ‘the inhuman attitude of the Supreme Court that led to consequent suffering of the people’ for the past 18 months.
Addressing media persons, GMPF convenor Advocate Suhas Naik urged Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to call for a meeting of all stakeholders in the mining sector before taking any decision into the various regulations imposed by the Apex Court.
“In this hour of crisis, all the mining stakeholders, political parties and leaders and stakeholders should join hands together to ensure that the legal mining operations resume in Goa immediately in a sustainable manner,” Naik said.
“Irrespective of which party forms the government at the Centre post Lok Sabha election, we want the Union government to take up mining issue seriously and ensure that mining operations resume at the earliest,” he added.
All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) General Secretary Christopher Fonseca said that time has come when political parties need to stop the blame game and take responsibility for resumption of the activity on which lives of over 1 lakh people depend. “Political chicanery between the state and Centre needs to be stopped,” he commented.
Fonseca said that government should adhere to the directives of the Supreme Court and form the public sector corporation as suggested by the expert panel to run the mining business. “With the setting up of corporation, the stakeholders would be served better,” he added.
TFonseca said the CM is trying to avoid forming of the corporation under the false pretext of corruption in the corporate sectorHe wondered whether government could not control corruption.
“Irrespective of which party forms the government at the Centre post Lok Sabha election, we want the Union government to take up mining issue seriously and ensure that mining operations resume at the earliest,” Naik added
