Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Also Present were Narendra Sawaikar, Shripad Naik and Vinay Tendulkar.
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SOLUTION ON CARDS!
Says Sawaikar in a statement ...
>> The meeting went on a positive note and it has been discussed to find a solution through legal means
>> This of course would require meetings with all concerned ministries
>> But it can be said and concluded from today’s meetings that the solution will definitely follow
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POSITIVE RESPONSE
FROM THE GoMs
The Group of Ministers appreciated the concerns expressed by the Chief Minister and assured to take all possible measures for the early resumption of mining
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TEAM-GOA
>> Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar
>> North Goa MP Shripad Naik
>> South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar
>> Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar
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PANAJI: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submitted before him the proposal from the Goa government for resumption of mining in the state.
The Chief Minister who is on a brief visit to Delhi also called on a group of ministers constituted to tackle the issue of the resumption of Goa’s mining.
In a statement released to the media, the Chief Minister’s office informed that he (Parrikar) briefed the group of ministers on the historical evolution of mining in Goa and the economic and social impact of its closure as a consequence of the recent Supreme Court judgement.
The chief minister also communicated the “wishes of the people of Goa as reflected in the unanimous resolution passed by the Goa Legislative Assembly for the early resumption of mining.”
The Group of Ministers consists of Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Parrikar was also accompanied by North Goa MP and Union Minister Shripad Naik, his South Goa counterpart Narendra Sawaikar and Vinay Tendulkar.
The Prime Minister was presented with a copy of resolution passed by Goa Legislative Assembly for resumption of mining.
“The meeting went on a positive note and it has been discussed to find a solution through legal means. This of course would require meetings with all concerned ministries. But it can be said and concluded from today’s meetings that the solution will definitely follow,” Sawaikar said in a statement to the media.
The Chief Minister had earlier promised that if the house passes a resolution he would carry it to the central government in New Delhi for appropriate action.
“The Group of Ministers appreciated the concerns expressed by the Chief Minister and assured to take all possible measures for the early resumption of mining,” the official statement reads.
Goa Legislative Assembly on Friday last unanimously passed a resolution to urge the Central Government to amend a central Act of 1987 to extend the life of Goa’s mining leases.
The resolution which was also supported by the opposition Congress will be placed before a specially constituted Group of Ministers in Delhi to urge them to “take appropriate steps to suitably amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987 and make it applicable prospectively… instead retrospectively so as to enable the current mining leases to remain operational upto 2037.”
Rather than go through the process of auction, which is now the mandatory procedure under the Mines and Minerals Development Act 1957 as amended in 2015, the State government wants and amendment that will give the leases new life.
“The Prime Minister has constituted a group of ministers. I have secured an appointment on August 7 and will present this issue before them to explain how Goa’s (Portuguese) concessions were different,” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday while speaking on the motion.
