PANJIM: Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation has termed the announcement of the revocation of the ECs suspensions a gimmick to influence the Zilla Panchayat elections and cautioned that this tamasha will not make any difference to starting of mining operations, any time soon. He was critical of the manner and the timing of the announcement.
Alvares has estimated that it will take over a year to get approvals for mining plans, since they now have to deposit waste within the lease area and can get the plan approved only on that basis. “It will take years before they get out of the mess in which they have put themselves. Revoking the ECs is just another tamasha. It will not make any difference,” he said.
He was also highly critical of the timing. “The action of revoking the suspension of the ECs is in violation of the code of conduct, since Manohar Parrikar was standing by the side of the Environment Minister when the announcement was made. The announcement was clearly to influence the course of the Zilla Panchayat elections. If they continue this way, mining may never resume in the State. They are doing everything the wrong way. Anybody will be able to challenge the action taken to revoke the suspensions. Right now I have no interest in the matter, but several people have called me saying they are going to challenge the decision,” he said.
The Goa Foundation petition will come up for hearing again in April 2015, so let’s hear what the Supreme Court has to say about the actions of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and those of the Goa government, he said.
Alvares went on to reiterate, “We have declared – and declare again – that we have no problem with re-starting of mining in Goa. All that we are insisting is that since the ore belongs to the people of the State, all revenue from mining should come to the government.”
He added that mining companies can be employed to extract the ore and paid their charges plus a normal profit of 10%, while all other earnings should go to the government which must deposit everything in the Goa iron ore permanent fund.
“Goa government must be owner of the leases, because the people of the State own the ore. We will pursue this issue, irrespective of whether mining starts or not, since the Supreme Court’s judgments say, mining can only be done in this manner,” he argued.
