Team Herald
Calangute: Mining in Goa could be halted once again if companies continue to violate Supreme Court guidelines, warned Goa Foundation’s Claude Alvares on Sunday, citing recent incidents at Mulgao in Bicholim as evidence of non-compliance.
“Mining will have to be stopped again because all the Supreme Court guidelines have been violated, and we will be filing a petition in this connection next week,” Alvares said, speaking during a talk at the Museum of Goa in Pilerne.
Alvares reminded the audience that in 2012, the Shah Commission had exposed widespread illegalities in Goa’s mining sector, revealing collusion between politicians, bureaucrats, and leaseholders. The commission described the situation as a “complete collapse of the system.” Subsequently, in 2018, the Supreme Court condemned the “rapacious exploitation” of Goa’s natural resources.
Although the auctioning of mining leases has brought some transparency, Alvares alleged that “everybody is undervaluing the ore” currently being extracted.
He reiterated that Goa’s mineral wealth belongs to its people, in line with the National Mineral Policy of 2019, which frames minerals as a “shared inheritance.” Under this principle, the state is meant to act as a trustee, and all income generated through mining should be placed in a public trust, either to pay regular dividends to citizens or be used for collective welfare—similar to models adopted by countries like Norway.
Tracing the history of mining in Goa, Alvares noted that the first leases were granted in 1929 under Portuguese rule. “The government had identified 800 mining leases in the belly of Goa stretching from north to south, but only about 120 were ever operational. None of them paid any royalty to the government,” he said.
Following Goa’s Liberation in 1961, there was a “tussle” between mining companies claiming ownership of the leases and the Indian government, which asserted its rights under the “doctrine of conquest.” It wasn’t until 1987, when the Indian government introduced legislation to clarify ownership, that mining companies began paying a small royalty. This was increased to 15% in 2008, raising government revenue from around Rs 20–30 crore to Rs 900 crore.
Rahul Bose of the Goa Foundation, who also spoke at the event, said the figure has now ballooned to around Rs 55,000 crore with the reintroduction of mining through auctions. However, he stressed that mining must adhere to constitutional principles of economic fairness, environmental protection, and equitable distribution—ensuring that the real beneficiaries are the people of Goa.