PANJIM: Stating that over 2.5 lakh people depend on mining and have invested heavily in the business, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the people are asking for waivers which the State cannot afford.
“In last 72 months the operations have been only for 10 months, so just when the sector was being restarted after substantial checks and balances being placed by the government, the shutdown could not have come at a wrong time,” Parrikar said in the letter.
He said that more than two and half lakh people who were directly or indirectly dependent on mining in the State are staring at an uncertain future and are in further debt/obligation due to investment made in the recommencement of operation in last 18 months.
“A large portion of such dependent persons who were providing support facilities to the mining industry like truck and barge operators have approached the government for relief in the form of waiver of their loans, which in the present scenario will not be possible for the State,” he said.
The CM continued saying, the struggle and problems of people of Goa cannot be overlooked and has to be adequately addressed by the State.
