PANJIM: The mining dump policy approved by the Cabinet will have no future as it is an attempt to salvage BJP’s reputation ahead of upcoming 2022 polls as it is clueless on initiating steps to resume iron ore mining industry, the Goa Foundation on Friday said.
Addressing media persons, Goa Foundation director Claude Alvares said that the policy is completely unconstitutional and illegal and any efforts to issue challans to erstwhile leaseholders under the policy would be challenged.
“This is going to be the shortest policy on the earth, as the election code is set to come in force anytime next week. Since the approval from Indian Bureau of Mines (IMB) is pending, the policy cannot move ahead,” Alvares said.
“This is nothing but an attempt to salvage the reputation of the BJP government which is now approaching the elections to the Assembly without having any clue of how mining may restart in the State (which is closed since 2018),” he added.
The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendment to the dump policy to allow removal of minerals from the waste, lying outside lease boundaries, in government and private place.
Explaining that the policy is illegal, Alvares said that in the Goa Foundation Case, the Supreme Court, among other things, had held that the lessee cannot dump mining rejects or waste outside the ‘leased area’ specified in the mining lease, unless the mining lease specifically allowed it.
In the Karnataka case, the Supreme Court had held that dumping mining waste was included in the term ‘mining operations’ and therefore such activity could not take place outside the ‘leased area’, he added.
“The new policy is completely illegal since the issue of the disposition of the dumps is still pending before the Supreme Court, who had appointed an expert committee to examine the issue,” he informed.
Alvares informed further that the Advocate General of the State had also advised the Goa government against any removal or working on dumps. “But this government has ‘care-a-damn’ attitude towards judiciary and its own legal advisor,” he said.
He also explained that the Mineral Concession Rule does not apply to Goa as there are no leaseholders and the rule is not applicable to activities outside lease boundaries.
GF Director maintained that they are not against dump removal and in fact believe that the process needs to be done through State run Corporation. “There is around 120 million ore stuck in the existing dump, which if extracted, there won’t be any need for fresh extraction activities for next ten years,” he explained adding, “but it has to be done in sustainable manner”.
Alvares said that the Chief Minister is clueless about mining subject and hence he is blindly accepting proposals coming from a couple of influential former leaseholders, all of which involve looting at the expense of State exchequer. “Government is trying to give away over Rs 200 crore ore to non-existing leaseholders for mere royalty of Rs 20 crore,” he said.
He also pointed out that as per Union Mines Ministry, since the dumps are a result of mining operations and that dump handling involves impact on environment, appropriate environmental and other clearances would be a pre-requisite.
