Lawrence Fernandes
Just how serious is the Government in recovering mining losses, (editorial Herald May 31, 2018) is a multi-crore question, much bigger than Vijay Mallya, the other Modi and many more “The Bold & The Powerful”
I have yet to lay my hands on the Shah Commission Report tabled in Parliament in 2012.
The figures shown by Shah Commission of Rs 35,000 crore and Goa Foundation’s Rs 65,000 crore, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India claiming Rs 1900 crore losses from 2009 to 2016 are all guesses and only on paper.
There are so many factors involved if one wants to consider real facts such as these. Right from mining sites where the ore is extracted and up to the point where it is loaded at the Port.
Stage one: The ore is loaded into the trucks and transported to the jetties, the trucker will have a slip to show how many trips he made in a day vis-a-vis the quantity. Same rule applies to the barge which carries the load to the ship.
Stage two: Shipper’s Customs House Agent prepares the Export Manifest and submits it to the Customs and Mormugao Port Trust and the final Bill of loading is prepared by Ship’s agent and the Master signs it as a Final Document, these documents are then used by all concerned Government Departments for levying taxes and so on. All this if faithfully done is good for all.
There are many other aspects including draught survey reports prepared by Independent Quantity Surveyors to show the exact quantity loaded, all this if prepared and submitted honestly.
As far as recovery is concerned it’s easier said than done. Let’s say for example, Goa has 40 people’s Representatives among them at least few must be belonging to the ruling faction, who might be having interest directly or indirectly, can the Chief Minister punish them or bring to their notice the wrongdoings? Especially in the present scenario? It’s like the famous Konkani saying: “Vonttui Amche, Dantui Amche”.
Mining in Goa started during Portuguese era and we are talking about 2007 to 2012, what might have had happened ever since mining started especially after 1961 is anybody’s guess!
I had written an article in Herald Other Voices February 23, 2018 advising Goa Government, “Not to give false hopes” to the mining dependents instead give them some alternate occupations like agriculture, farming etc, as seeking relief from the Supreme Court is a distant dream.
Recovery of the losses could also be distant dreams as the Governments will come Governments will go and those who are in position to say will “Make Hay while Sun Shines”.
