MAPUSA
Auctioning of Goa’s mining blocks has begun and the process may take a “one to one and a half month” to complete, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.
“We have identified the blocks and auction process has also been started but it will take one to one and half month,” Sawant told Prudent Media in the popular interview show ‘Head On’.
The Chief Minister also said that the issuance of notices and the directive to vacate the mining leases sent to the respective mining companies had established the intent of the government to auction the same leases and restart mining activity.
“The State Bank of India and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited have also come on board. It may take another one to one and half months for the auction process to start,” he said.
Last year the Goa government had roped in the State Bank of India to facilitate the auction of “six to eight” iron ore mining blocks by December 15. The Goa government has already appointed the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited, a central government concern, for exploration of the nearly 90 mining leases in the State for mineral prospects.
The auctioning of the iron ore mineral blocks will be carried out under the aegis of the newly formed Goa Mineral Development Corporation, which was formed earlier this year as a step towards restarting of the mining industry.
Fresh mining excavation in the State has been shut down since 2018, when the Supreme Court of India scrapped renewal of 88 mining leases citing irregularities.
