Panaji | Jun 18, 2015: After obtaining a legal opinion, the Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB) has decided to inspect 17 mines, which were not inspected due to objections raised by Goa Foundation.
GSPCB sources said that its legal advisors stated that the board is governed under the Air and Water Acts. The legal opinion maintains that renewal of leases does not come under the board's jurisdiction, which may go ahead and process applications of the 17 mines before granting them a consent-to-operate.
"The inspection of the remaining 17 mines will be completed this week," GSPCB sources said, adding that only after all 61 mining leases have been inspected, a report would submitted to the technical advisory committee before it is presented at the board meeting scheduled on July 10. The NGO had taken the state government to the Supreme Court over the issue of illegal mining in the state. GSPCB, on Wednesday, completed the inspection of 44 mines out of the 61 mines it was scheduled to inspect.
In its letter, Goa Foundation stated that out of a total of 61 leases, 17 mining leases were approved on January 12. "The Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act was also amended with an ordinance on the same day. The amended act does not have a provision for renewal of mining leases. The renewal of these leases is, therefore, extremely doubtful. I would request the board (GSPCB) to look into this matter carefully, as it is required to grant consent only to those in possession of a valid mining lease," the NGO stated.
Out of 89 mining leases renewed by the state government, only 61 mining leases have been allowed to extract iron-ore, on a pro-rata basis, to fit into the 20 million tonnes cap on iron ore extraction fixed by the Supreme Court.
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change had revoked the environment clearance of 72 mines which were kept in abeyance following the Shah Commission report tabled in parliament.
Mining came to a halt in September, 2012, in the state, after the Shah Commission report on illegal mining was tabled in parliament. In 2011-12, the Goa mining industry exported around 45 million tonnes of iron ore from the state.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)