the goan I network
PANAJI
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has, in a letter written to Union Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged the Union Government to consider a “legislative cure” to allow resumption of mining, it being “the only possible alternative to the various issues being faced by the State of Goa.”
The letter sent by Parrikar from the AIIMS hospital says the State of Goa would not be able to cope with the shutdown in the industry.
“The State of Goa is now placed in a situation wherein it has executed various renewal of mining leases and collected revenues on the same. In the last 72 months, mining operation in the State has only been 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. More than two and a 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 being made in the recommencement of operation over the last 18 months,” Parrikar said.
“The decision of the Supreme Court… has not at all considered the intention of the parliament as introduced by the MMDR (amendment) Act, 2015 with regard to tenure of leases and providing continuity to the mining industry before the change regarding auction, can be introduced, despite the provisions of the amending act being brought to its notice,” Parrikar said.
Parrikar claimed that the closure of mining is prejudicially affecting a population of almost 2.5-lakh people.
“The working class cannot be left in such such circumstances forcing them to take law in their own hands. There are reports about school dropouts, increase of theft and other criminal activities reported in the area,” he said.
Parrikar claimed that the state government was able to generate revenue through mining even though it was restricted.
“In the process of renewals, the state government was able to generate Rs 1400 crore as revenue in the form of stamp duty, registration fee, etc. Thereafter on mining resuming sometime in October-November 2015, till it was once again suspended on March 15, 2018, the state has earned an amount of Rs 658 crore on royalties. The collection of district mineral fund during this period was Rs 183 crore and the collection under the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund constituted (by the Supreme Court for Goa) was Rs. 466 crore,” he said.
“All these were achieved despite a restriction on extraction of minerals in the state of Goa,” said adding that without these revenues “the state is almost being paralysed and will be unable to carry out various welfare schemes as well as infrastructure development.”
He cited the fact that the Goa Legislative Assembly passed a resolution earlier demanding the resumption of mining through an ordinance.
The Goa Legislative Assembly had earlier passed a resolution demanding the resumption of mining through amending the Goa Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Leases, Act 1987) to legislatively cure the Supreme Court’s order and allow for the resumption of mining without the process of an auction.
