TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: In a move that would help in speedy resumption of mining activities in the State, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has directed Goa government to submit list of valid mining leases for grant of Environment Clearances (ECs) that are placed under suspension since October 2012. State government has also been directed to submit their views over proposed 20 million tonnes fresh extraction of iron ore per annum as per Supreme Court directives.
On the other hand, failure of State Government in delaying drafting of mineral policy for granting mining leases, despite Supreme Court order, has not gone well with the Union Mines Ministry, who has directed State to immediately draft transparent mining system for approval of mining leases.
In a joint meeting called for four mining States — Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Odisha, MoEF stressed on need to expedite resumption of mining in Goa and directed to submit the list of valid mining leases in the State for grant of ECs at the earliest. State government has so far identified 27 leases for executing their deeds as per directives from High Court. These leases are ones whose stamp duty of around Rs 380 crore were collected by government for renewal.
The Secretary Union Mines Dr Anup K Pujari was however, of the opinion that the MoEFCC should not wait for the response of State government on ECs and should consider granting it to the valid leases as the Ministry has kept them under suspension past two years. Pujari also said that it is the responsibility of the State to decide on the production limit of fresh extraction as per Supreme Court directives.
Goa Government in its reply before Apex Court in the past had made it clear that the annual cap on iron ore export would be 24 million tonnes — 20 million tonnes fresh extraction and 25 million tonnes from dumps.
“The mining sector is suffering from various concerns at this stage. Mines are closed due to instances of illegal mining, judgments of Court and due to the action taken on reports of Justice M B Shah Commission. Mineral production is down and State government is suffering due to decrease in revenue on royalty and shortage of minerals for various industries in the State,” Pujari said.
Further, the Union Mines Ministry has directed government to draft a transparent mining lease approval system at the earliest by strictly enforcing the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation (MMDR) Act and Rules. It has also said to develop model rules as per MMDR for controlling illegal mining.
