Panaji port a gateway for illegal ore export: MPT
PTI, PANAJI | 18 September 2011 20:25 IST
The state-run Panaji Minor Port could have served as a 'gateway' to export a huge amount of illegal iron ore from the state, a senior official revealed, while appealing the Goa Government to suspend the operations at the port in "national interest".
In a letter written to state Chief Secretary, Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) Chairman P Mara Pandiyan has said that almost five million metric tones of unaccounted ore was exported through this port during the last financial year (FY).
MPT, a major port in the state, is located in Vasco, while the minor port in the state capital.
Both the ports cumulatively exported around 54 million metric tones of ore during the last Financial Year.
Pandiyan's letter comes in the backdrop of Justice M B Shah Commission's inquiry into alleged illegal mining in the state, which began this week.
The commission has been probing various aspects of illegal mining in the state, including exports by evading royalty.
"It is very important that this kind of rampant unaccounted illegal mining as well as export has to be stopped," Pandiyan said in his letter pointing out that the whole responsibility of Panaji Port rests with the state government.
The letter reads: It is estimated that about 5 million tons have been exported through Panaji Port as unaccounted Iron ore. This has caused bleeding of royalty to state exchequer and the people involved in this operation seemed to have flouted all norms.
Pandiyan has requested the state government to suspend the operations of Panaji minor port in national interest to prevent plunder of national resources.
He stated that the port does not have any berth nor any surveillance mechanism to monitor the quantity of ore exported and exporters have utilised the lax vigilance to ship millions of tons of illegally extracted iron ore.
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