Parrikar accused of allowing illegal mining
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 11 September 2012 23:45 ISTAnti-mining activists have accused chief minister Manohar Parrikar for allowing illegal mining while the Goa State Pollution Control Board will meet on 25 September to decide about renewing expired permissions of the mines.
The mines cannot function without the GPSCB permission for air and water, which have already expired on 31 July this year.
In view of this, the anti-mining activists today marched to the GPSCB office at Patto Plaza, demanding that no permission be given for air and water to the mines as they have been mining beyond permissible limits, thus causing air and water pollution.
GPSCB member secretary Lavinson Martin told the agitators that the board would meet on 25 September to take a decision in this regard.
The agitators thus decided to wait till the board takes a formal decision in this regard.
Ramesh Gawas, one of the anti-mining activist, however asked how Parrikar could allow the mines to function when his own state-run board had not renewed the air and water permissions.
He also asked how Parrikar could allow transportation of the iron ore even after suspending the mining operations and also talking about lifting the mining dumps.
“It means that Parrikar is in collusion with the mine owners”, opined Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation.
According to Gawas, the stand of the state government would be known when the GPSCB would take a decision on permitting the mines to operate.