PANJIM: The Goa Foundation has slammed the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant for his failure to recover the Rs 3,400-odd cr from companies as fines for illegal mining.
Taking to social media, Claude Alvares wrote, “This doctor has no clue about money, this much is certain.”
He further wrote that the government has issued show cause and demand notices to mining companies and leaseholders for recovery of Rs 3,431.31 crore, all related to illegal mining done by them.
“The first set of notices, based on the report of the team of Chartered Accountants set up by Parrikar, was issued in 2016. The notices were issued to around 50 miners for Rs 1,508.70 crore. In 2017, compelled by the disclosures made in the Auditor General’s report (2016), the department sent out another set of notices for recovery of Rs 1,922.61 crore,” he said adding thus, miners owe the government on its own admission a total of Rs 3,431.31 crore. Alvares questioned how much has been recovered because of these notices? “Only Rs 3.99 crore!” he said.
“In the meanwhile, in order to pay salaries, this government is issuing bonds almost on monthly basis. The debt is now Rs 20,000 cr, the highest for any State in the country in terms of per capita debt. Public has to repay this money in some way,” he said.
Moreover, he says, in order to pay for COVID-19 pandemic expenses, the Sawant government is raiding the coffers of the two District Mineral Foundations for Rs 30 crore each.
“Dozens of proposals from mining communities for help from these Foundations lie unattended to now for over two years,” he claimed.
