Govt celebrates mining Start, arrests workers of Closed mine
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 10 August 2015 17:24 IST
CM Parsekar breaks Shriphal to start Codli mining
Goa government proved a point today. It shook hands with one mining lease holder for starting mining operation after three-year long closure and put behind the bars the mining workers, who were striking against closure of another mine.
Vedanta became the first mining company to start its operation of Codli mines at Kirlpal-Dabhal in Sanvordem constituency today morning.
When chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar was breaking the Shriphal (holy coconut) to mark the beginning in Sanvordem, his government machinery in Panaji was busy reversing permission to the mining workers to voice out their protest against the closure of Kuddegal mines, owned by Fomento.
And while Parsekar, also the home minister, was congratulating Vedanta for starting mining operations in the Assembly, his police machinery was busy arresting the retrenched mining workers at the Panaji bus stand.
A banner one of the workers displayed there was having a huge photograph of defence minister Manohar Parrikar, who had given public assurance to the mining workers when he was the chief minister.
With a demand to fulfil this assurance, the banner quoted Parrikar:
“The mining lease holders will be told to retain the existing workers while also taking back the retrenched workers. We have started procuring the information of contract workers from the central and the state labour commissioner offices.”
Around 300 workers, under the banner of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), had gathered near Panaji bus stand for a peaceful morcha and demonstration today morning at 10.30. They were allowed to demonstrate, but suddenly permission to morcha was denied by the deputy collector last minute.
Around 12 noon, 54 leading activists among them were arrested for violating Section 144 and taken to Anjuna police station. Before that, Congress legislator Alex Reginald Lawrenco and independent MLA Vijay Sardesai visited them.
The Kuddegal mine was closed after the Supreme Court lifted the ban and allowed operations after fulfilling the legal required laid down by the apex court. The company retrenched 219 mining workers.
“I appeal to all the mining lease holders to start their operations by October, on the line of Vedanta, in spite of price of iron ore falling drastically in the international market. We require mining operations for Goa’s economic prosperity, welfare of the workers and to root out unemployment”, Parsekar made the appeal today from the floor of the House.
Earlier, he personally went to the Codli mine to inaugurate its operation, in the presence of industries minister Mahadev Naik and four BJP legislators from the mining belt – Pramod Sawant (Sankhli), Ganesh Gaonkar (Sanvordem), Nilesh Cabral (Curchorem) and Subhash Phaldesai (Sanguem).
The multi-crore mining scam by the mining operators, exposed by the Shah Commission, had resulted into mining ban imposed by Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government on 10 September 2012.
This was followed by withdrawal of environmental clearance by the central government and ultimate ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
After hearing the case threadbare, the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on 21 April 2014.
But Goa government formally lifted the ban only 15 January this year, even after which the mining operation could not start, pending fulfilment of legal requirements.
Parsekar has expressed hope that maximum number of lease holders would come forward to start mining, even before October.
But with Goa’s leading mining lease holder like Fomento closing the mine, the real picture is becoming hazy, not knowing which way the wind would blow – Closure or Opening?
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