As the Chief Minister gets ready to balance his books, reverse the growth rate, compliment growth in tourism footfalls with actual growth, one of his biggest concerns is not just to put mining back to 2011 production and royalty levels, but to ensure that the sanctioned level of 20 million tonnes is achievable and practical, in the face of regulation regarding mining dumps.

While the issue is technical and will not be easily understood by laymen, it is important to highlight, that barring a change in the entire DNA of mining and the control of resources, a way forward has to be found within the parameters of the existing universe of mining, while continuing with the out of the box thinking on mining which would involve transfer of control, and resources to the people.

One issue which is on a boil now and will end up in a big wound is the absolute lack of clarity over the handling of mining dumps. The Economic Survey of the Goa government says - and rightly so - that dumping of minerals out the lease area is illegal. This is in consonance the judgment on writ petition 435/1 known as the “Mining judgment” of the Supreme Court.

However, Goa faces a very practical reality which makes it difficult to follow the Supreme Court judgment, though it has very little choice in the matter. If 20 m tonnes is the production and if for each tonne of ore extracted, there is rejected mineral material (which becomes a dump) of 4 tonnes, there will be 80 m tonnes of  new dumps each year to add to the 750 m tonnes already lying outside lease areas. If dumping outside the lease area is illegal, this 80 million tonnes of rejects annually will have to be dumped within the lease area. No imagine the burden on each lease. It is estimated, that this rate, the space in the active eases will be over in 4 years. What happens then?

Goa is on record is having taken a stand that the conflict between the Supreme Court judgment and situation that exists. Former Chief Minister Parsekar had sent a letter to Union mines minister, Narendra Singh Tomar stating that by incorporating provisions for dumping outside of leasehold areas, the operational and logistical difficulties faced by lease holders in scientific and efficient extraction of ore, especially in smaller leased areas, in Goa as well as rest of the country, would have been resolved by lawfully addressing the perceived conflict between the extant situation and the Supreme Court judgment.

 But that is easier said than done. Manohar Parrikar has perhaps realised the ground realities and chosen to play by the book strictly. But  a long term and a long lasting solution can only be arrived at if there is  comprehensive dump policy which is announced and cast in stone,. It is only then, that all stakeholders will know how much ‘real estate” they really have.

Secondly “zero waste” mining has to be a law and not a norm. If all the minerals in the ore body is won, besides iron ore, can you imagine how much more the value of the originally extracted mineral “body would be”. If profits can accrue from the other minerals, this maximisation will allow the state to live in a w orld where companies don’t  have to be in the direct race to win minerals, in order to run other businesses.