Addressing the media, the Rajya Sabha MP said the chief minister’s order dated September 10, 2012 was the beginning of the colossal loss of income to the state and its economy rendering thousands of people jobless, including truck owners, barge owners and others.
“The chief minister’s order gave a death blow to Goa although later on, the then Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jayanti Natarajan was compelled to pass another order quoting appropriate provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 as the Goa chief minister had illegally usurped the powers of the Government of India. It is this confrontation that led the Supreme Court in passing the order in a PIL, where again, Goa government failed to defend the interests of thousands of people, whose livelihood depended on mining” he said.
