Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will on Tuesday call upon the Group of Ministers (GoM), appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, with a State Assembly resolution seeking the Central government’s intervention to amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987 to enable the mining leases to remain operational up to 2037. All 88 mining leases have been quashed and set aside by Supreme Court.
From there, Parrikar will head to the US on August 9 for a health review pertaining to the pancreatic ailment, he has been suffering from. He is expected to return by August 19.
Parrikar had announced that he had sought an appointment with the GoM on August 7, wherein he will present Goa’s mining case for necessary action from the Centre.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed that Parrikar will leave for Delhi on Tuesday morning, from where he would fly to US. In Parrikar’s absence, Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma will hold charge of the administration.
The State Assembly on August 3 unanimously resolved to urge the Central Government to take appropriate steps to amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987 and make it applicable prospectively wef 23-05-1987, the day it was enacted, instead of retrospective effect from 20.12.1961, so as to enable the current mining leases to remain operational up to 2037.
The House also resolved to urge the Central Government to amend the MMDR Act, 1957 to give the benefit of 50 year tenures introduced retrospectively in 2015 by way of Sec. 8A (3), to the mining concessions in Goa, which though were converted into mining leases in the year 1987, were given a fictional date of grant of 1961 so as to allow collection of dead rent and royalty for the past by the Government of India.
Mining operations in the State have been suspended since March 16, 2018, post the Supreme Court directions.
Parrikar had assured the House that he would try his best to convince the Centre to amend the Act so that the mining industry resumes in the State within the legal framework. The chief minister said that the issue of mining industry will get a proper direction by September-October this year.
