TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Supreme Court appointed six-member expert panel on iron ore mining cap, has recommended gross capping for Goa at 20 million tons annually –10 million for fresh extraction and 10 million ton cap for dumps, sources said.
However, government officials refused to confirm the limit, preferring to say that nothing has been finalized yet.
The state government has however opined – as earlier elucidated- that the State should have gross cap of 45 million tons annually -20 million tons cap for fresh extraction and 25 million tons for dumps. This has been mentioned in the Mineral Policy 2013, tabled before the Apex Court.
The expert panel is in Goa to conduct a macro environment impact assessment (EIA) study on what should be the ceiling of annual mining of iron ore from Goa considering its ore resources and carrying capacity keeping in mind the principles of sustainable development and inter-generational equity and other relevant factors.
The committee members include ecologist Dr C R Babu, geologist Dr S C Dhiman, mineralogist Prof B K Mishra, Forest officer S Parmeshwarappa and the Goa mines secretary Parimal Rai. The committee has to submit its interim report before Apex Court by February 15.
Sources confirmed that the committee is of the view that the gross capping for the state should not be more than 20 million tons. However, Director of Mines Prasanna Acharya said that the committee is yet to reach any conclusion yet.
“We have already made our stand clear before the Supreme Court for 45 million tons cap. The committee is having meetings with various stakeholders and taking inputs. The committee will submit its report to Supreme Court directly,” Acharya said.
Goa Foundation, the petitioner in Supreme Court has recommended gross capping of 5 million tons annually, while the mining industry has suggested 45-50 million tons per annum to the committee.
