PIL in SC on Goa mining fraud

A Public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to restrain the Union government to allow resumption of mining of iron and manganese ore in Goa till Justice M B Shah commission’s findings estimating a loss of Rs 35,000 crore to the exchequer due to illegal mining there since 2000 was looked into.

NGO Goa Foundation sought the apex court to appoint an independent authority to control, supervise and regulate the mining operations in the state.

“When compared to the mining district of Bellary, the situation in Goa is far worse and grim in terms of the extent of illegal mining, plunder of public resources, collusion of authorities at all levels and total degeneration of the environment,” the petition said.

The Justice Shah Commission, appointed in 2010, came out with a report, recommending the recovery of Rs 35,000 crore from the offending parties.

The report which was tabled in Lok Sabha on September 7 had alleged that all sorts of illegal mining were present in Goa, causing degradation of environment.

Two days after the report was tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Environment and Forests Ministry issued showcause notices to 42 mining companies under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Mining suspended

In the wake of the commission’s report, the Goa mines and geology directorate on September 10 temporarily suspended all mining operations till October.

However, the temporary suspension did not affect the trade and transportation of ore already mined and existing in the lease-hold areas, in transit or in stores.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had put in abeyance environmental clearance granted to 139 leases in Goa. The petition wanted direction to restrain transportation and trade of already mined ores.