PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that all possible options for the resumption of the mining sector in the State are being evaluated and the same would be taken up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Parrikar, on Friday morning, chaired a meeting of MLAs from the mining affected areas, who were unanimous that attempts should be made to resume mining by October-November, as several thousand people’s livelihood is dependent on the industry. The MLAs were also of the view that the government should ensure that existing leases continue to be with the same leaseholders as it would be in the interest of the people dependent on the activity.
The meeting was attended by Speaker Pramod Sawant and MLAs Rajesh Patnekar (BJP), Deepak Pawaskar (MGP), Pravin Zantye (BJP) and Prasad Gaonkar (Independent). Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar and BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral could not attend the meeting as they were out of the State, whereas senior Congress MLA Pratapsingh Rane was unable to attend due to ill health.
“The Chief Minister will also meet the MLAs who were unavailable for today’s meeting on account of being out of the State. CM has been holding regular consultative meetings with all concerned on mining issue in the State,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement released after the meeting.
“All possible options for resumption of mining activity in the State are being evaluated. Chief Minister will also hold a joint meeting of all mining concerned MLAs shortly to arrive at a consensus after which the matter will be taken up with Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the CMO has said.
The mining industry in Goa has come to standstill since March this year after 88 mining leases were quashed by the Supreme Court. The Chief Minister is likely to visit Delhi next week to meet the Prime Minister.
Emerging from the meeting, Speaker Pramod Sawant told media persons that the Chief Minister was confident of working out a solution to ensure that mining activities resume by October-November. “Chief Minister has said that the solution should be such that there is no more hindrance on the way of resumption of activity and there is smooth operation,” he said.
Sawant said that during the meeting, two options were discussed that is either to go for an appeal against the Supreme Court’s February 7 order or move for an ordinance to extend the mining leases.
“The Chief Minister has told us that he has already started correspondence with the Centre on the issue. He is also studying the opinions given by the Solicitor General of India, Senior Counsel Harish Salve and State Advocate General,” the Speaker stated.
Sawant said that the State government wants mining to resume for the sake of lakhs of people who are dependent on this activity. “We favour that the same mine owners should get the lease as there are several CRS and philanthropic activities which are undertaken by them and they should be continued. The villagers want the same mine owners to continue with the lease as it is in the interest of the people who are dependent on the industry for ages now,” he said.
Asked about auction or a government corporation for mining operation, Sawant said that a Corporation will not work and auction is a lengthy process. “First and foremost, in auction, there is a question of surface right which is not vested with the government,” he said.
The meeting also discussed retrenchment of workers by mining companies. Companies have asked employees to either go for voluntary retirement or face transfers. “We have brought this to the notice of the Chief Minister, who has assured to discuss the same with the mining companies,” Sawant said.
