the goan I network
PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has rejected a fresh plea by the government of Goa to continue ore transportation beyond the March 15 deadline given by the Supreme Court at a specially called hearing on the matter.
Several mining companies and traders along the Mormugao Port Trust had approached the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking that the transport of ore be allowed at least by barges since that would not involve road transport and hence could cause no pollution.
However, the High Court has declined to modify its order of Wednesday where it sought that all ore mined from the 88 mining leases be stopped.
Instead, the court agreed to prepone the date of the next hearing from April 18 to April 11 and include the mining companies as intervenors in the petitions.
The Court had stopped the movement of all ore after it prima facie, was of the opinion that transportation of ore was not consistent with the Supreme Court’s order which directed that all mining activity comes to a close on March 15.
The stoppage will be in force until the Chief Secretary files an affidavit before the High Court justifying the transport of ore and whether it was in consonance with the Supreme Court’s order of February 7.
The Goa Foundation had approached the Bombay High Court at Goa alleging that all transport of excavated ore that was already mined and royalty paid for was a violation of the order of the Supreme Court. “Since, we are dealing with a contention that the State is in breach of the Judgment of the Apex Court, it is our duty to carefully examine the matter from all angles, lest the Judgment of the Apex Court is breached,” a High Court bench of Justices N M Jamdar and Prithviraj Chavan ruled.
“We will, therefore, require an affidavit of the Chief Secretary, if it is the stand of the State Government that permitting an activity, as the State has done through the impugned orders and the minutes, is not in breach of the Judgment of the Apex Court,” the court said noting that they inquired with the learned Advocate General as to whether the Director of Mines and Geology, who was present in the Court, would take a responsibility for this decision by filing an affidavit since the Minutes of the Meeting are signed by him.
“In our respectful reading of the Judgment, we prima facie find that when the Apex Court mandated the leaseholders to cease all mining operations and “arrange their affairs”, means deleterious effect must end by 15 March 2018,” the court had noted.
“Therefore, we are of the prima facie opinion that when the Apex Court mandated the leaseholders to arrange their affairs by 15 March 2018, it contemplated ceasing of all forms of activities relating to mining which would have an impact on the environment,” the court observed.
