PANJIM | May 25, 2015: Asserting that obtaining forest clearances for the renewed iron ore mining leases is the biggest challenge it faces, the state government has sought the intervention of the Union Mines Ministry in obtaining the necessary clearance from the state Forest Department.

At the recently held Co-ordination cum Empowered Committee meeting of the Mines Ministry, the then Principal Secretary (Mines) Pawan Kumar Sain pointed out that obtaining forest clearance to the leases is the biggest challenge before the department and has requested the ministry to take up the matter with the concerned authorities in the Union government (Ministry of Environment and Forest).

The committee in its meeting held on March 13 had directed all the state governments to submit the list of leases needing forest clearance, so as to take it up before MoEF. However, the Goa government has failed to submit the list.

The state Forest Department is of the view that no more forest land will be allowed to be diverted for mining activities. Hence it has refused to grant forest clearance to the four renewed mining leases for operation in 275.96 hectares of forest land.

The four renewed mining leases belonging to Geetabala Parulekar, Hiralal Khodidas, Rajaram Bandekar and Zoiram Neugi, have been allowed fresh extraction of ore up to 1.57 million tonnes on the pro-rata basis devised by the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG). MoEF has kept the environment clearance of these leases under abeyance, for want of the forest clearance from the chief wildlife warden as the leases are located in forest land.

“These leases have forest land in their lease area ore dispute of involvement of forest land and the forest clearance is not available. The leases would be considered for lifting of abeyance after forest clearance is obtained,” MoEF has said in its circular issued on March 20.

There are 22 such leases, however only four have been renewed by DMG under Section 8 (3) of the Mines and Minerals Development Regulation Act 1957. While the mine owned by Neugi on TC No. 59/51 has forest area in the lease area, the other three leases are entirely on forest land. The leases were operational (until September 2012) as per the environment impact assessment (EIA) notification 1996 and 2006.

(Source: http://www.goacom.com/)