Captured by : The all-party delegation from Goa seen handing over a memorandum to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday.
PIYUSH GOEL STANDS BY
APEX COURT VERDICT
* Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal after listening to the delegation rejected the idea that an ordinance route be chosen as a way out of the solution
* He said that auction would be the only way out for Goa’s mines. Thinking of bypassing the Supreme Court verdict was not a good idea
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PANAJI: The all-party delegation which paid a visit to Delhi on Monday had to return empty handed with reports emerging that Union Railway Minister and former Union Minister for Mines Piyush Goyal rejecting the group’s demand for an ordinance as a resolution to the impending shutdown in mining.
The delegation first met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways who is in charge of Goa’s affairs on behalf of the central BJP, who then took the delegation to meet former Mines Minister Piyush Goyal.
The delegation which consisted of MP Narendra Sawaikar, Ministers Ramkrishna “Sudin” Dhavalikar who led the delegation, Vishwajit Rane, Speaker Pramod Sawant, Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, MLAs Rajesh Patnekar, Prasad Gaonkar, Deepak Prabhu Pauskar and Tivim MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar, apprised Goyal of the financial situation facing Goa over the coming weeks in view of the mining shutdown.
However, Goyal, after listening to the delegation on behalf of the Union Mines Minister, who is out of the country, rejected the idea that an ordinance route be chosen as a way out of the solution.
“He said that auction would be the only way out for Goa’s mines. Thinking of bypassing the Supreme Court verdict was not a good idea,” sources present at the meeting told The Goan.
Earlier the all-party meeting had unanimously agreed that a demand to seek from the central government that an ordinance be promulgated to amend the Goa Daman and Diu Concession (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987 to ensure that the start date of Goa’s mining concessions as leases under the Indian Act is 1987.
The delegation had initially hoped to meet the Prime Minister, however with the Prime Minister unavailable and the Union Mines Minister, too, unavailable the delegation had to be content with meeting Gadkari and Goyal.
The only silver lining offered by Goyal was that auctions for Goa’s leases could be taken up sooner than expected. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had initially set a target of six months for the auction process to be up and running.
