The Goa Foundation’s demand for a complete ban on mining activities may be on a sound foundation of logic, facts and recognition of the manner in which the government has been handling the mining crisis, post the historic mining judgment. But the demand for an absolute shut down is a double-edged sword. The Goa Foundation’s demand to ban mining completely was made to the Standing Committee of Parliament visiting Goa on Saturday.
The Supreme Court, which has take into account much of what the Goa Foundation has raised, and given judgments towards regulated and sustainable mining, has not even looked at or contemplated a mining ban. The effort has been precisely this a) Start afresh by giving new leases as per a well defined policy. b) Stop the functioning of those leases which violated laws and were termed illegal c) Make the state is the custodian of leases and maximize revenue for the state by creating a fund whose coffers will be filed through mining revenues through auction.
At the same time a very important equation has got into the mix – look for value addition in the rejects and in future extraction, by way of minerals other than ore. The Goa Foundation endorses this completely.
Therefore the efforts needs to be towards regulating mining in this direction and not ask for a complete ban. What is most important is to get the state to wrest control of mining powerful from big daddy mining companies, who can continue to be contractors who will be paid to extract a resource which belongs to the state. But a total ban will not affect mining companies as much as the real constituency of the dispossessed – the mining affected. There needs to be utmost sensitivity on this.
If the government was pragmatic, it would have taken control over mining and ensured that limited but sustained mining kick-started to allow the trucks, the JCB’s and the barges to be back in motion. It basically does not want to let go of the status quo of the control of big mining companies being in charge of the show, with the government acting as the revenue collector. The responsibility of restarting mining lies completely with the government and not with the mining companies. Unfortunately the government in power is loathe to do any practical activity, preferring to leave mining in the hands of the age old favourite companies.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s strong observations about the Investment Promotion Board, about the decision to de-classify the coconut tree and the environmental destruction is a serious indictment of the way Goa is being run. And the failure to regulate mining and run it in a sustainable manner – which is the genesis of Goa Foundations demand to ban mining, has added to the environmental collapse of Goa.
Some pretty strong words were spoken by the Standing Committee Chairman Ashwini Kumar. His announcement that the Committee would recommend to the Government to intervene to look at the Investment Promotion Board law and the decision on the coconut, is a parliamentary slap on the legislative decisions of the Parsekar government, and right fully so and at the right time. This government should realise that there is a world beyond Goa and the country is watching.
