Timeframe to resume mining cannot be ascertained: CM

PORVORIM: Though the State government is exploring various alternatives including judicial and legislative cures to restart the iron ore mining industry, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Tuesday told the House that the timeframe to resume activities cannot be ascertained. 

Sawant also said that though the government was considering auction of iron ore leases, this cannot be undertaken pending the outcome of a petition filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Goa Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987 and also the fact that 80 per cent of surface rights of the leases are with the mining companies or private players. He said that the matter is pending before the three-bench Apex Court.

The House on Tuesday witnessed a healthy debate over the delay in resumption of mining activities in the State, wherein even the ruling bench MLA Atanasio Monserrate, in a pointed question to the government, sought to know whether the mining industry will really resume or that the people are being taken for a ride with just assurances.

Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, Congress MLAs Luizinho Faleiro, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, BJP’s Clafasio Dias, and MGP MLA Ramakrishna Dhavalikar posed a series of questions over steps initiated to resume the activities, the closure of which affected the livelihood of lakhs of people. 

Responding to a volley of questions, the Chief Minister said that the government has already filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgment dated February 7, 2019 banning mining activities and an interlocutory application for allowing handling of dumps as per the recommendation of Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report. 

“I am making sincere efforts to restart legal mining activities in the State ever since I took over as Chief Minister. Since I am born and brought up in a mining village, I can closely relate to the sufferings of the dependents,” Sawant said.

“Government is exploring various alternatives to resume mining activities in the State at the earliest. There have been several hurdles, which we are overcoming,” he said. 

In a question tabled in the House, the Chief Minister said, “The State government is exploring legislative cure as well as judicial option for resumption of mining in the State, however, the timeframe for the same cannot be ascertained.”

The Chief Minister also said that no decision has been taken to restart mining activities by setting up a Corporation or through auction mode. “At present no mining leases are currently operational,” he added. 

He informed the House that the State government had requested the Central government to bring an amendment to the Goa Abolition Act, 1987, to restart mining operations in the State, however, Central government opined that the State could seek a review. 

Sawant said the government has undertaken 22 e-auctions of iron ore and has generated revenue of Rs 130 crore.

Earlier, Kamat questioned why the State government failed to pressurise the Centre to bring an amendment to the Abolition Act, even though the House had unanimously resolved the same. 

Faleiro also sought to know as why the government took no steps to auction the leases, as recommended by the Apex Court. “Government has failed miserably. We are making lakhs of people to suffer to favour a few,” he charged.