In the mining belt today (February 26) mining dependents will be putting up black flags over their houses, taking out bike rallies from both districts to protest the government’s inaction to get mining started in the State. They have also called for a bandh in the State. In a few weeks, it will be a year since mining operations have been stopped and the demands to get it restarted have been steadily growing over the months. In this context, it is pertinent to look at alternatives by which mining operations can take off once again in Goa, but keeping environment concerns and the people uppermost.
At a discussion on livelihoods last week, a suggestion was made to introduce growth with sustainability and that the State should have a natural resource policy that will usher in a new era of development. It was also stressed that the development of agriculture and indigenous practices should be pursued conjointly to diminish the inequality in the State with emphasis on responsible industrialisation and conscious development. Important here is the suggestion of a natural resource policy.
It is not the first time that such a suggestion is being made, it has come up earlier too. Given that mining has been a mainstay of the Goan economy in the past, it is pertinent to look at what the Goenchi Mati Movement (GMM), a movement spearheaded by those involved in the people’s environmental movement, is asking. According to GMM, minerals are an inherited asset that belongs to all the people and to the future generations, so the entire value of the minerals must be made available to future generations. While this argument is acceptable to many, GMM has taken it further to recommend what it calls ‘zero-loss mining’, wherein the money earned from the sale of minerals cannot be utilised, but should be saved in a permanent fund and any income arising from the fund be distributed as a dividend to the citizens.
Such a policy has found favour with a section of the people, who see it as plausible, but the authorities have not taken a shine to it, preferring instead to continue with awarding mining leases for private firms to exploit and earn from. If the GMM proposal is to be taken forward, this policy of the government would have to change, as it would lead to the government taking up mining through a corporation, selling the ore and depositing the profits in the permanent fund. Till now the government has shown no inclination towards taking up this proposal as an alternative to restart mining operations.
Ore is an exhaustible resource that cannot be replenished. The exploitation of the resource has to give the people, who are its owners, something in return. Currently, the only funds from mining that could reach the people are those that are deposited with the District Mineral Foundations that were constituted following directions from the Supreme Court. Under the terms mandated by the Supreme Court, 10 per cent of the total amount equivalent to the royalty payment is being deposited in the fund. The current suggestion is to use the funds with the DMF to aid the low-income groups in the mining areas.
The intergenerational equity principle has to be explored to define the future of mining in Goa. It’s basic tenet is that the minerals have been inherited by the current generation who are nothing other than custodians of the wealth and this has to be passed on to those who will come after. It is only after the State can subscribe to this principle that mining will have any sort of sustainable future in Goa. Any other alternative, will only allow the exploitation of the resources, without any return to the people.
