PANJIM: The Goa Foundation has written to the Director of Mines and Geology outlining 39 specific conditions that would have to be met by the department prior to re-start of mining activity in the State.
According to the Goa Foundation, these conditions were in the form of commitments on oath made by the Goa government in its affidavit dated February 10, 2013 filed in a writ petition, its rejoinder affidavit dated March 9, 2013, affidavit dated November 9, 2013, the Goa Budget speech of 2012-13, provisions of the Goa (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation of Minerals) Rules, 2013, directions given in judgments dated 21.4.2014 (Goa Foundation I) and 7.2.2018 (Goa Foundation II), compliance affidavit of government in IA in writ petition of 2012, affidavit dated December 1, 2015 in writ petition of 2015, recommendations of dump mining report of the expert committee (2014) now accepted by the Supreme Court, and Director of Mines and Geology orders No.1535, 217, 2181, 2473.
Most of these commitments were made under oath and the Courts disposed of matters based on these commitments. In fact, in its affidavit dated February 10, 2013 in writ petition of 2012, the government informed the Supreme Court that the affidavit involves some policy issues and the same was placed before the Council of Ministers, which had since approved the same for filing before the Apex Court.
Director of Goa Foundation Dr Claude Alvares stated that one of the commitments to create 435 posts in the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) has not been implemented, though approved in 2013. On the contrary, the Department has seen a steady stream of civil service cadre officers – with little or no skills or expertise in mining – being appointed as its directors. Directors are changed every few months. Of the present 60 staff, two-third is general employees including drivers.
“The turnover is high since these officers are still being pressured to issue orders that favour the private mining lobby that continues to exercise undue influence on the political decision-making as far as mining operations are concerned,” he said.
There is no laboratory under the department to analyse mineral ore samples, and the government is forced to rely upon the results from a severely compromised private laboratory in the State. This is unacceptable. All mining transactions in the past have been done on the basis of self-reporting by miners, which is also unacceptable, he said.
There are still no developments on exclusive mining corridors for movement of ore in both north and south district mining areas. The Ministry of Environment and Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has banned movement of mining trucks through village roads. The public has been harassed enough by bumper to bumper mining traffic in these areas and is not willing to have a repeat of these scenarios.
None of the investigations launched by the DMG through the SIT has resulted in any convictions, and the SIT is now crippled with no senior officers in command. The persons responsible for illegal mining have neither been identified nor penalised in any manner. Money from illegal mining is yet to be recovered. New mining auctions are being conducted without ensuring that the damage caused by the previous lease-holders has been rehabilitated or compensated.
The 39 conditions are only the most urgent of the over 100 commitments made by the Goa government, including removal of all traders from the ore movement chain. Traders are back in full force, and the department is doing business with them, as if all the assurances it made on oath to the apex court are to be treated as mere pieces of paper.
The letter concludes with a notice on re-start of mining operations in the State: “We hope that our highlighting of these improvements – to which government is committed – will be taken in proper spirit by the department, but we also issue due notice that if these matters are not resolved for more efficient and transparent functioning of the department, prospect of resumption of mining under older regime practices will be challenged.”
“I am specifically writing to you to dispel any illusion that the department may have that mining will resume without these conditions being first met to the satisfaction of the public who, I reiterate, is the owner of the minerals,” Dr Alvares said.
