Team Herald
PANJIM: The much-delayed Goa Mining case is listed for hearing before Supreme Court on Thursday.
The matter, which was initially listed on July 16, was dropped from the proceedings by the Court.
The appeal filed by mining companies challenging 1987 Mining Abolition Act along with a review petition of the Goa Government, challenging Supreme Court’s order dated February 7, 2018, will come up for hearing.
The mining activities in the State have come to halt since March 16, 2018.
Vedanta had moved the Supreme Court challenging the 1987 law that abolished mining concessions granted by the Portuguese government.
Union Mines Ministry, had in March 2019, filed interlocutory application (IA) for an early hearing in the batch of matters related to Goa, Daman and Diu (Abolition and Declaration of Mining Leases)Act 1987. Goa Mining People’s Front had also filed IA in the matter.
The State Government had in November 2019 moved Apex Court seeking that the court should revisit its order dated February 2018, wherein it had declared all 88 mining leases as null and void.
The Government had contended before the court that under the amendment to Section 8 of the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation (MMDR) Act, the mining companies are entitled to extend their mining leases upto 2037.
