PANAJI
A day after the State government put out four mining blocks for e-auction, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has set a fresh deadline for physical resumption of the mining sector -- November 2023.
Sawant said, the mining leases have currently become water bodies and that fresh extraction of iron ore can resume only in November next year.
"After the auctioning process is over more formalities and technicalities have to be adhered to," Sawant said.
Winners of the bidding process once allocated the mining blocks will have to secure Environmental Clearances (ECs) from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF) all over again.
Sawant said, the auction process will be efficiently fast-tracked and all leases will be put up for auction in due course.
Meanwhile, the right to sell or dispose the ore reject dumps within mining blocks being auctioned vests with the State government according to the conditions laid down in the e-tender documents.
However, the dumps will have to be cleared by the State government within one year of issuing the 'letter of intent' to the winning bidders, failing which, the latter will have the discretion to dispose it.
The State Government had on Friday put up auction four mining blocks at Bicholim, Sirigao-Mayem, Monte de Sirigao and Kalay. The e-tender process for these four mining blocks is expected to be completed by November 21.
