Team Herald
PONDA: The All Goa Truck Owners Association (AGTOA) has claimed that despite the start of e-auctioned ore transportation, the truck owners have not benefited, unlike Vedanta.
Addressing the press on Friday, AGTOA President Nilkant Gawas alleged that Vedanta is forcing truck owners to sign an agreement to transport ore at Rs 8 per kilometre per tonne after the resumption of mining instead of the government-approved and notified rate of Rs 12.33. He stated that the rate should be decided by truck owners and mining companies at a joint meeting, but the mining companies were not bothered to do it.
Gawas also alleged that Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar refused to listen to the truckers when they approached him to talk about their exploitation by mining companies, which proved the chief minister was only bothered about the welfare of the companies.
When in the opposition, BJP had complained about the Rs 35,000 crore scam, but it is conniving with mining companies, he said.
He also alleged that the government had failed to take note of whether only e-auctioned ore is being transported or mining companies have resumed mining in their areas.
Gawas further said that MLAs Ganesh Gaonkar, Nilesh Cabral and Subhash Faldessai, who are on the monitoring committee of mining activates, are not cooperating with the truck drivers to solve the issue of low transportation rates.
The truck owners have reportedly called for a meeting on November 29 at Dhareshwari Hall, Dharbandora at 10 am to decide their course of action on the issue of transportation rates.
