TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Directorate of Mines and Geology has submitted a list of additional 38 mining leases to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), after the mines were surveyed to map their distance from wildlife sanctuaries.
With this, details of total 92 mining leases, out of total 118, have been submitted to MoEF.
A senior official confirmed that the Mines department had forwarded the list of additional mines to the Ministry giving details about their distance from wildlife sanctuaries. Last month, government had submitted a survey report of 54 mines to the Ministry, of which one mine falls in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary.
The survey also indicated that there are 49 mines within 10 kms of the State’s wildlife sanctuaries, while four are situated over 10 kms away.
The Mines department survey was in view of the expert appraisal committee (EAC) meeting for clearing environment clearances (EC) which had been suspended in October 2012, following the tabling of the Shah Commission report in Parliament that exposed a Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam in Goa.
The survey has been conducted using Digital global positioning system.
