PANAJI/MARGAO
The minor minerals section of the Department of Geology and Mines will begin issuing licences in two months after sorting out the legal quagmire over sand mining and the ban imposed by the Court, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
"The Goa government will start giving sand mining licenses to applicants within the next two months’ time," Sawant said on Thursday while speaking to journalists.
He said legal sand extraction in the State should hopefully resume at least in one river in North Goa in the next one or two months.
Sawant also said the expert agency, which was roped in by the government to conduct survey of the river in North Goa has completed the task. “The district authorities have received a number of applications for sand extraction from the river”, he said, adding that the government will be in a position to clear the applications so that legal sand extraction can resume in the next 2 months.
There has been a complete ban on the local sand mining industry due to court directions which has for several months triggered a shortage of the crucial material in the construction sector.
The local extraction and trading of sand sector has also faced severe uncertainty over several years with intermittent interventions from the courts.
The activity is regulated by the 'minor minerals' section of the mining department and the absence of a firm policy or scientific regime to grant extraction licences is at the epicentre of the intervention of the courts which has banned it several times over concerns of environmental destruction of riverine ecosystems.
The erosion of the banks of several rivers including Tiracol in some parts of Pernem, Chapora in Siolim and other contiguous areas of Bardez and also in Colvale and Amona has been blamed on unregulated and indiscriminate sand extraction from these river beds.
Currently the extraction activity is at a virtual standstill and whatever little sand is transacted in the State all happens clandestinely.
The shortage faced by the State's construction industry is being reportedly overcome by imports from across the border raising some tensions among local truckers.
The department of mines and geology had stopped permitting sand mining anywhere in Goa following intervention of the High Court which directed formulation of a proper state-level policy to scientifically regulate the activity.
Sawant who holds the mining portfolio had revealed in the recent winter session of the Goa Legislative Assembly that the sand mining policy and rules will be formulated soon.
Sawant meanwhile, assured the employees of Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB) that the government will discuss with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) how to go about in resolving the bank issue.
He said a delegation of the bank employees had called on him, adding that the meeting discussed the status of the bank and the bank’s future. “I told the delegation that the government will talk to RBI. The government is ready to take whatever steps needed in the interest of the bank”, Sawant added.
