Environment Ministry Revokes Ban On Mining In Goa

18 March, Panaji

Union Environment Ministry has revoked a three-year-old order that resulted in a ban on mining in Goa, paving the way for resumption of iron ore extraction in the coastal state. This was disclosed by Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.

In 2012, then Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had suspended environmental clearances for 93 mining leases in Goa after a commission headed by former Supreme Court justice MB Shah submitted a report highlighting rampant illegal extraction of the raw material in the state.

The move brought iron ore mining to a halt in the state, where irregularities in mining, inaction, abuse of law and regulations were estimated to have contributed to a 35,000 crore rupees mining scam.

The Goa government will have to decide the ore extraction limits for individual miners so that total mining does not exceed the cap of 20 million tonnes set by the apex court for all output in Goa.