Team Herald
PANJIM: With the approval for a revised policy, the State government is eyeing a revenue of Rs 500 crore from e auction of unclaimed iron ore dumpss lying for years on private lands, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant claimed on Thursday.
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The Goa Foundation however has already challenged the Goa Iron Ore Dump Handling Policy 2023 and the matter is pending before the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
The State government yesterday approved the revised Goa Iron Ore Mining Dump Handling Policy, 2023, which enables it to e-auction unclaimed iron ore in the form of dumps located on various private properties.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat after chairing the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that iron ore dumps on land where the owners have not claimed the property or paid the conversion charge would be subject to e-auction.
“The dump policy has been revised. For landowners who have claimed the land, they will be paid a minimum lease amount. Around 30 to 40 such dumps have already been identified, and more are expected to be identified soon after further surveys. The e-auction of these dumps will begin within the next 15 days,” said the Chief Minister.
Sawant noted that the government anticipates earning a revenue of approximately Rs 500 crore from the e-auction process, though the exact figure will depend on the quality of the ore. “It is expected that the revenue may range between Rs 400 crore and Rs 500 crore,” he added.
The Chief Minister emphasised that the identification of iron ore dumps is underway and assured that the auction process would be conducted in a transparent manner. He also stated that many additional dumps scattered across the state would be auctioned in subsequent phases.
The e-auctioning process will serve to clear the land of long-neglected ore heaps, Sawant explained. Once the ore from a site is auctioned, the government will pay the respective landowner a lease fee, the exact amount of which will be decided at a later stage.
The move comes after mining in Goa had come to a screeching halt and iron ore dumps which have been lying at various locations in the State, have been untouched since mining operations stopped in 2012 due to a Supreme Court order.
