Nothing much different on mining in the budget
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 26 March 2012 19:16 IST
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has proposed hardly anything different from the previous chief minister Digambar Kamat on the front of mining.
The difference would thus be felt only when the firm hand against illegal mining and environmental protection would be visibly seen.
Parrikar dedicated the budget to Matanhy Saldanha, his forest and environment minister, who suddenly died.
Saldanha had emphatically said two days prior to his death that he would not allow to divert a single inch of forest land for mining. This particular statement is missing in the budget speech.
Though he admitted in his budget speech that “the rural Goa is suffering on account of rampant mining activity, legal as well as illegal,” he said that he is committed to “forthwith stop all forms of illegal mining.”
“I am not advocating incessant, uncontrolled, and unregulated illegal mining in the State... However, I am certainly advocating, in unequivocal terms, for a sustainable mining under a controlled and well regulated regime,” said Parrikar.
Recalling his election promise, the chief minister has proposed “to allocate 60% of the revenue generated through mining royalty for constructing a dedicated corridor” at Sanguem, Quepem and Curchorem.
The corridors are important, says Parrikar, “for ensuring a safer and trouble free transportation of iron ore, development and creation of appropriate infrastructure to act as a catalyst for growth and development of the mining area and revitalize the adversely affected agriculture land and environment.”
He has however fixed a deadline of 30 months – October 2014 – to complete all these corridors.
Similarly, the BJP government has also assured a comprehensive mining policy to control the total extraction from the lease areas as also quantum of dump handling, by May end.
In addition, Parrikar also assured the House to review all the mining licences and leases issues in last 10 years and compliance audit of all the licences.
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