SHWETA KAMAT
shweta@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: More than 50 per cent of the total forest land converted in the last 15 years was for mining purposes, reveals State government data. In all, 35 mining projects got clearances for converting 1,019.34 hectares (ha) of forest land since 2001.
As per information available on the CAMPA portal of the Goa government, a whopping 1,931.936ha of forest land was converted in the State between 2001-2017, with 50 projects getting clearances from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF).
Forest clearances are granted for projects like mining, defence, drinking water facility, irrigation, railway tracks, construction of roads and bridges, putting up transmission lines, etc. Amongst all, mining, which basically means iron ore operations, tops the chart.
The forest conversion for mining purposes is reported highest in 2009 when 792.283ha of land were converted for 13 projects. This was followed in 2008, with six projects getting clearances to convert 397.589ha of land and in 2010 as much as 310.593ha of land were converted.
It was during this period, 2007-2010, that the iron ore industry was at its peak. Also, of the 90 valid leases that were operational during the same period, almost 50 percent of the leases were either in forest areas or near protected sites.
However, from 2011 till 2018, no forest land conversions have been reported in the State for mining purposes. It was during this period that the mining industry was reeling under crisis of closure.
