PORVORIM: The govt admitted that not a single rupee from the Rs 470 crore collected under the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund (GIOPF) has been spent in the last four years. CM Pramod Sawant said that the GIOPF has been left unutilised as the matter has been sub-judice. He was responding to a question tabled by Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, who sought to know the status of the GIOPF and the funds collected under it.
In his reply, the Mines Minister stated that from April 21, 2014 till April 01, 2018, before the closure of the mining activity, Rs 396 crore has been collected in GIOPF from fresh iron ore extracted in the state. During the same period, Rs 75 crore was collected to the fund from the iron ore which was e-auctioned, he said. However, Sawant said that the amount utilized is Nil.
As per the SC order, ten per cent of the sale proceeds of the iron ore extracted in Goa and sold by the lessee must be appropriated towards the GIOPF for the purpose of sustainable development and inter-generational equity.
