The Directorate of Mines has exposed a blatantly falsereport, by not disclosing full facts, in an English local daily on Thursday,January 10, stating that the department has violated the Supreme Court orderbanning the transport and movement of iron ore from Goa. The reportsurreptitiously withheld that fact that the NOC issued to a firm was forexporting ore from a lease in Maharashtra for which there is no ban.
Twisting the order, the report referred that the Apex Courthad banned all mining operations, transport and export of ore and avoided andhence amounts to contempt. In a press statement, further confirmed by theDirector of Mines Prasanna Acharya to The Goan, the Directorate of Mines stated“Some sections of the print media has published a misleading report that theMines Department has issued NOC to a firm for exporting ore.
This report concludes that such issuance of NOC amounts tocontempt of Supreme Court order dated October 5, 2012 in Writ Petition fi ledby Goa Foundation against Government of India and State of Goa.
The relevant portion of the Supreme Court Order datedOctober 5, 2012 is reproduced herein under:
“Till further orders all mining operations in the leasesidentified in the Shah Commission Report and transportation of iron ore andmanganese ore from those leases, whether lying at the mine head or stockyards shallremain suspended as recommended in the Shah Commission Report”.
Thus the order dated October 5, 2012 bans mining operations,transportation of ore whether stored at the mine head or stockyard from theleases mentioned in Shah Commission report (which are located in Goa).
This order does not ban import of iron ore from outside the stateor outside the country. So also transportation of such imported ore and exportof such ore from any leases situated outside the state is not banned.
An NOC was issued to a firm to export a quantity of only72,000 m tons of ore stocked in Goa (at the Sircai jetty), from a mining leasesituated in Maharashtra for export outside the state. Such a NOC was is- suedto facilitate the applicant to complete paper work for export, with a conditionthat they should obtain an export permit from mines Department before exportingthe ore. The firm has been exporting ore from Maharashtra for the last 2 years.
“It is most unfortunate if the Petitioner before the SupremeCourt knowing the content of Judgment and facts on the present issue has alsoparticipated in such unwarranted media trial when he is before Hon’ble SupremeCourt and has remedy before the Supreme Court had if there had been contempt ofits order.
The opinions expressed by experts, must be without knowing thefacts of the case or contents of the Order of Hon’ble Supreme Court. It is alsosurprising to note that the report makes a mention of contacting the Directorof Mines and Geology without doing so.
As a responsible department of the government, and beingparty to the Petition before Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, the department isaware that it should behave responsibly in the matter which is before suchhighest forum and knowingly the Department shall not indulge in any act ofomission and commission which shall result in contempt of order of Hon’ble SupremeCourt of India.”
