PANAJI
Calling for an investment in the mining sector, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday announced that the iron ore mining related activities will commence from October, this year.
Sawant, however, maintained that it will take seven to eight years for the full-fledged operation of the iron ore activities.
Speaking to media persons in Sanquelim, Sawant said that with e-auction of mining leases and dump auction policy in place, one can expect the mining activities to commence from October, this year onwards.
“This is the right time to invest in the mining business. Those who are ready to invest should invest now. In the coming seven to eight years, the industry will run full-fledged,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the government focus is to allow and promote only sustainable mining practices by maintaining balance with the environment.
The iron ore mining activities in the State are shut since March 2018 after the Supreme Court set aside the second renewals granted to 88 leases.
The State government has so far e-auctioned nine mining blocks; however all the blocks require statutory clearances including Environment Clearance to commence the operation.
Simultaneously, the government has continued with e-auction of ore, lying at various locations. Next month, around 1.17 million tons of ore is identified for e-auction.
