TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Goa Foundation has urged Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to e-auction iron ore rejects lying at the dumps, which as per Supreme Court order are “illegal” and hence belong to the State. Goa Foundation has estimated that saleable dumps would generate nearly Rs 20,000 crores for the State.
Director Dr Claude Alvares said that as per government record, of the total 750 million tons of iron ore dumps, 150 million tons is saleable ore, which would fetch the government around Rs 20,000 crore. “Supreme Court has made it clear that iron ore rejects lying outside the lease areas are illegal and hence government becomes the owner,” he said.
Alvares said that environmentalists will never oppose if government proposes to e-auction the dumps.
BJP-led government since the very beginning had been in confrontation with the former Union Minister for Environment and Forest (MoEF) over handling of dumps. While government proposed to handle it, the MoEF Minister had objected to it on environmental grounds.
