PANAJI
The Pramod Sawant-led government served notices to holders of the 88 lapsed mining leases to relinquish them in one month's time by June 6.
Individual notices were issued to all the lease holders on Thursday by the Director of Mines citing 2014 and 2018 verdicts of the Supreme Court of India which it claimed ends the lease from March 2018.
Several of these lease holders have been operating the mines for decades and some prior to the 1961 Liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule.
The iron ore mining sector, considered the Goan economy's mainstay until it ran into trouble and was grounded to a halt in 2012 with the Supreme Court order declaring all leases lapsed and illegal.
The industry faced a double whammy again in 2018 when the Apex Court again intervened to declare illegal the processes for renewal of leases adopted by the governments of the late Manohar Parrikar and Laxmikant Parsekar in 2014-15 in lieu of the amended central law The Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDR Act).
The amendment to the MMDR law passed by Parliament in 2014 stipulated the auctioning of mining leases as the only manner of granting mining rights.
Goa's mining companies meanwhile had sought the 'legislative cure' as an option to make an exception in Goa for revalidating the leases by circumventing the auction only stipulation but the pleas backed by the State government were declined by the Centre.
Ore exporters to approach govt: The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA) has said they will approach the government with an appropriate representation as well as seek remedial action through judicial courts.
In its response to the government action of issuing notices, GMOEA said: "We are given to understand that members have received these notices. There is no order."
GMOEA added, that these matters are currently being heard before the HC.
