PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said that the “leases would not require fresh environmental clearances (ECs) for carrying out mining operation in the State” and there is possibility that ECs would be granted to leaseholders within four to eight weeks after they apply to the Union Ministry.
“The leaseholder will not have to apply for fresh ECs. The ECs exist, but were revoked by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). There will not be any fresh public hearings,” chief minister told the media, but qualified that the new mining policy for granting leases would lay certain conditions before the lease holders could carry out operations.
Giving a political twist to the issue, Parrikar said that the ECs were suspended following state government’s order to stall mining operation.
“The decision on ECs was political,” he said.
After the BJP-led government’s order on September 10 to temporarily suspend the mining operations, the then Union MoEF Minister Jayanti Natarajan on September 12 suspended the ECs granted to 93 mines. The ministry has formed expert appraisal committee (EAC) to re-examine the issue of ECs.
The statement comes at a time when both-pro and anti-mining supporters felt that mining companies has a lot to do after the government allows them to start operations. It was anticipated that lessees will have to go through the entire process of public hearings and environment impact assessment (EIA) report before ECs were granted.
Parrikar, who is the state mines minister, said that the mining lease policy, which would be an expansion of the existing mining policy, will speak about capping of 20 million tons on fresh extraction as per Supreme Court directives, but does not “speak about dumps.”
Parrikar said that at this moment he would not consider granting more leases, beyond those that were operational in the state prior to suspension in September. A total of 90 mines were operational at that time. The state had around 336 valid mining leases until April 21, 2014, when the Supreme Court termed the leases as illegal.
The chief minister said that the policy, the draft of which has already been prepared, would be ready before September 30 and leases would be granted by October 30. “A concession of 10 days will have to be granted as its government process requires lot of vetting,” he added.
E-auction on hold
The entire 15 million tons ore lying at jetties and mining sites would be e-auctioned before mining leases carry out any fresh extraction, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
“If we don’t finish e-auction before fresh extraction, then there is every possibility of conflict as lease holders could make their claim over the stacked ore calling it as fresh extraction,” he stated.
Parrikar said that the e-auction process is currently on hold following a drop in prices of iron ore in the international market. “We are waiting for prices to stabilize,” he said.
The government through four e-auctions has so far sold 5 million tons of ore raking in revenue of Rs 620 crore.
