SC to start mining hearing from 8 May

GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 06 May 2013 23:44 IST

Supreme Court is expected to finally begin the hearing of Goa’s mining case from Wednesday, 8 May.

Sources in the Goa Secretariat told goanews.com that the case has been listed on 8 May.

After the apex court had suspended all mining operations on 5 October last year, the hearing would now actually begin after seven long months.

It is also learnt that the forest bench has been reconstituted with earlier judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi and two new Supreme Court judges – Justice T S Thakkar and Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar.

However, the actual bench would be known only when the hearing begins.

Though the hearing finally begins from 8 May, it is not known whether it would continue during summer vacation or when the court reopens before monsoons.

It is also not known in what direction the case would begin with.

Sources in the Secretariat said all the Goa government officials as well as Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni would leave for the national capital tomorrow. 

Following tabling of the Shah Commission report on Goa’s illegal mining in the Parliament, Dr Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation had filed a petition in the apex court.

Prior to this, Goa government had stopped mining extraction while union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had kept all the environmental clearances issued to the mines in abeyance.

As a result, the mining operations in Goa had almost come to a standstill.

After hearing the petitioner, the Supreme Court however suspended all the mining operations, including its transport also from mine-heads or stockyard until further orders.

Simultaneously, the court-appointed Centrally Empowered Committee, headed by P V Jaikrishnan, was told to submit its report within four weeks.

After visiting the mines physically and also studying the whole matter more deeply, the CEC had filed its interim report before the Supreme Court on 7 December 2012.

The apex court had then directed the Goa government as well as others to file its replies.

The Supreme Court heard the matter once again on 21 January, granting extension to Goa government to file its reply.

Till date, Goa government has filed three affidavits.

 

Goa Foundation has filed the petition against MoEF, Goa Government, Union Ministry of Mines, Indian Bureau of Mines as well as Goa State Pollution Control Board.

Two mining companies – Prime Minerals and Sesa Resources – have also been allowed to file replies in this regard.

Meanwhile, hectic lobbying has been done by stakeholders in Goa’s mining industry including the lease holders, barge and truck operators, mining workers and even traders depending on mining at the Centre.

Besides demanding central package for the affected mining dependent people, the stakeholders have also pleaded for unified approach before the Court, in order to restart mining operations as fast as possible.

However, the case was delayed as the forest bench of the apex court was busy disposing the case of Karnataka’s illegal mining case.

The apex court, based on the CEC report, categorized Karnataka’s mining leases in three categories – A, B and C, while permanently shutting down 49 illegal mines falling in C categories.

Only 18 mines in A category were allowed to start while allowing restart of remaining mines in B category with lots of conditions.

It is predicted that similar formula would be followed in case of Goa. 


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