PANJIM: It can only happen in Goa. At a press conference called for and presided by the president of the Goa Congress unit, John Fernandes at Congress House, one Balchandra Naik accused the former Congress Chief Minister and present Leader of Opposition Pratapsing Rane and his son, sitting Congress MLA Vishwajit of trying to extort Rs 10 crore from him to clear a mining lease.
Fernandes had recommended this same person for a mining lease as per information with Herald.
“I had applied for a mining lease somewhere in 2004. Pratapsing Raoji Rane, former Chief Minister and his son demanded Rs 10 crore from me to clear the lease application. My buyer gave them Rs 6 crore. Rane said that money was given
to his son and not to him, and so he wanted more,” Naik said to journalists in presence of the Congress president John Fernandes.
Meanwhile, Naik said that despite him having all valid permissions, Rane made sure that the mining lease was not granted. “Rane and his son harassed me and extorted money from me. I was completely harassed by these people and that was the time when I approached Fernandes for help. There was nothing illegal,” Naik said.
Naik’s facts are however completely incorrect as Herald has proven with documents that John Fernandes used his position as a former MP to influence the Cong government to permit the export of his ore from a lease which didn’t have a licence. He infact pushed for the lease after ore was extracted from it.
The Supreme Court had passed a judgement wherein it said that Dahej Minerals be allowed to extract ore from the prospecting mining lease and that his application for lease should be approved by government.
Fernandes said that former Chief Minister Digamber Kamat had infact in 2007 cleared the file for granting mining lease to Dahej Minerals and the proposal was also cleared by Union Mines Ministry’s expert committee.
“I don’t want to comment but if he (Naik) files a complaint, I can ask ACB to investigate it”
– Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar
Rane & his son demanded Rs 10 cr for granting mining lease, says Naik
Rs 6 cr had already been paid
CM assures to hand over the matter to ACB
Permission for mining lease was cleared by Digambar Kamat in 2007
SC allowed Dahej Minerals to extract ore and directed Govt to grant lease, Fernandes
