TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: State is all set for the third phase of e-auction of iron ore minerals on May 12, wherein total 6.22 lakh metric tons of ore lying at jetties and Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) would be e-auctioned.
State through Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC) had auctioned 1.62 million metric tons of iron ore through two different e-auctions conducted on February 17 and March 5. The total value realized is Rs 260.68 crores approximately, which as per the latest judgment of the Supreme Court would go to state treasury.
The e-auctions were carried out under the supervision of Supreme Court appointed monitoring committee headed by Dr U V Singh.
For the third e-auction, the ore belonging to mining firms like Sesa Sterlite, V M Salgaoncar, Chowgule & Company, Timblo and Bandekar Brothers. The ore has been stacked at ten jetties and MPT.
State would be auctioning 15 million metric tons of iron ore lying at jetties, leases, plots, beneficiary plants and port as per Apex Court directives.
The Court in its judgment passed on April 21 has said that since the renewal of all the deemed mining leases in the State had expired on November 2007 and the operation carried out thereafter is illegal, the mining lessees will not be entitled to the sale value of the ores sold in e-auction but they will be entitled to the approximate cost (not actual cost) of the extraction of the ores.
Government has been made the treasurer of the money collected through e-auction, which as per Court directives will have to be distributed amongst mining workers who were laid off or were not paid salaries since the time the mining operations were suspended and certain portion will have to be saved in the Goan Iron Ore Permanent Fund for the purpose of sustainable development and inter-generational equity.
