Team Herald
PANJIM: As 184 mining leases in Goa are slated to expire on March 31, the Central government has made it clear that the new leaseholder, whom the mine would be auctioned, will not have right over the iron ore extracted from these leases, prior to its expiry.
The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in a notification issued on Saturday, has also said that the successful bidder of the mining lease, shall be deemed to have acquired the valid prior environmental clearance, vested with the previous lessee, for a period of two years.
A total of 184 non-working mining leases in Goa are identified which would expired on March 31 as per Section 8A(6) of the MMDR Act (amendment) 2015.
“The evacuation or removal and transportation of already mined out material, lying with the mining leases, expiring under provisions of MMDR Act, by the previous lease, after the expiry of the said lease, shall not form the part of the mining capacity so permitted to the successful bidder, selected through auction,” the notification issued by Joint Secretary Geeta Menon, reads.
She further said that successful bidder, shall be deemed to have acquired valid EC, vested with the previous lessee, for a period of two years, from the date of commencement of new lease and such the new lessee will have to continue mining operations as per the same terms and conditions of the EC, till new EC is obtained.
Of the total 184 mining leases expiring in the State, there are 60 leases that fall in the protected areas of Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Park, within the buffer zone and hence cannot be taken up for mining in future.
Remaining mining leases – that is 124, can be taken up for mining in future through an e-auction.
Further, of these 124, there are 77 leases, which have never ever worked, since they were granted lease by the government and there are another 47 leases which have worked for some time.
Also, there were a total of five mining leases, which were operational between 2007 and 2012 and one lease working between 2015 and February 2018.
