PANAJI
The Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) has decided to seek a report from the State Forest Department on the stability of the iron ore dumps lying on the forest land including wildlife sanctuaries.
The government, earlier this month, notified the ‘Policy for Regulating Iron Ore Dump Handling in the State of Goa’, according to which the State will transport 25 million tons of dumps annually. The DMG has also decided to handle the dumps lying in the forest areas.
Sources said that before handling the dumps from the forest area, it is important to get a detailed report from the forest department on the stability of such dumps and whether it would be in the interest of flora, fauna and wildlife.
“Only the forest department will be in a position to give us the exact position as to how handling of such old dumps would be in the interest of State wildlife,” sources said.
Sources said that in the dump policy, the government has made it very clear that unless the forest department provides a stability report on dump handling, no dumps from the forest areas would be touched. “The forest department will also help in providing the data with regards to total dumps lying within their jurisdiction,” sources said.
As per the declarations provided by the Concessionaires/ erstwhile Lessees, the total stock of dumps in Goa exceeds 700 million metric tonnes as of date.
In the first phase, the government has decided to auction dumps which are unstable, adjoining water bodies or otherwise sensitive in nature. Prior to processing any dump for auction, the DMG will conduct a dump profile study of each dump.
