“Losses due to encroachment can be arrived at only in case it is established that such encroachment resulted in the exploitation of mineral,” Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
Parsekar, who is also Minister for Mines and Geology, said that with regard to storage of minerals outside the lease areas, no loss has been incurred by the government. “Losses depend on the values of mineral and royalty rates which change from time to time,” he said.
Parsekar said that the Mines department and Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) have jointly conducted an inspection of encroachment and storage of minerals outside the lease area and the report is still awaited.
The chief minister was replying to the question tabled by Congress MLA Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco. The question was based on the findings of Justice M B Shah Commission report.
Government informed that Shah Commission was appointed by the Central government and as such investigation, if any, regarding the report is beyond knowledge of the mines department.
A total of 100 mining firms were castigated by the Commission for carrying out illegal encroachments. Commission had grilled State Mines Department for failing to take any action despite being aware of the situation.
Though, show cause notices were issued to all 100 leases, no action was initiated, as the State government and IBM contested Commission findings on encroachment stating that Global Positioning System (GPS) has “not accurately mapped these areas.”
