Goa’s ban on mining is in reality a sham

NEW DELHI: The Shah Commission report may give the people of Goa only a temporary reprieve from the impacts of mining with the state government permitting trade of already extracted ore that has been termed illegal by the panel.

The Manohar Parrikar government has also advocated extraction and export from existing mining dumps — which by some estimates are pegged at 700 million tonnes and contain low grade ore. This could turn into a lucrative source of raw material for miners.

In its order, the state has said, "The suspension of mining operation shall not affect trade and transportation of ore already mined and existing in the lease hold area, in transit or stored or stocked in jetties."

With mining already at a low ebb or temporarily shut due to monsoon, the temporary suspension, officials in the Union government warn, would hardly impact production in the short run.

The BJP, which had defeated the previous Congress regime by running on a strong plank against illegal iron ore mining, has now pitched its weight behind mining of the existing dumps which can now be worked for low grade ore.

The state government has taken on the Centre which had claimed that these dumps worth several millions of dollars could be mined for iron only after environment, forest and other central clearances. Parrikar's draft mining policy too favours ore from mining dumps to be exported and he has armed himself with legal opinion to challenge the need for environmental clearances.

In an indication that the state government is soft-pedalling, it is yet to move to notify the eco-sensitive zones ( ESZ) around national parks and sanctuaries which would close a large number of mines. Goa has so far indicated that it is completely against the ESZs.