BICHOLIM: More than a thousand mining dependents from Sanquelim, Bicholim and other surrounding areas met the Sanquelim MLA and Goa Assembly Speaker, Dr Pramod Sawant, seeking clarity on the Centre’s reported rejection of the plea for an Ordinance to restart mining.
A delegation led by Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF) President, Puti Gaonkar, expressed its anger over the news that the Centre has rejected the plea of the State to promulgate an Ordinance to restart mining.
The delegation claimed that the Government has betrayed the people and they do not have any hopes in the matter.
However, Sawant informed the delegation that BJP President Amit Shah had asked Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to follow up the file pertaining to the amendment to Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) which is currently stuck in the office of Attorney General of India. Accompanied by Goa MPs Vinay Tendulkar and Narendra Sawaikar, the legislator had met Shah last week.
Sawant assured the delegation that the Central Government would amend the MMDR Act in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament scheduled to begin in December.
GMPF has demanded that a delegation of all the MLAs and Ministers from Goa should approach the Centre and solve the issue in the interest of the State.
“We have demanded amendment to the existing MMDR Act so that the mining in the State can resume at the earliest. We are giving a week’s time and Dr Sawant has assured us that next week they would have a meeting at the Center and sort out the issue,”, Gaonkar stated.
He informed that they would also meet the leaders of the coalition partners in the Government, Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). Gaonkar said “We will request them to put pressure on the Government and would ask them to withdraw their support if BJP is unable to come with a solution. If they want that people should support their party, the leaders should solve this issue”.
