Goa mining policy awaiting central regulation
PTI, PANAJI | 10 December 2010 21:35 IST
Goa mine owners will have to wait for more time to get clearance for additional mining leases and renewals as the state government has further delayed the formation of mining policy.
Chief minister Digamber Kamat, told the state environment protection council on Thursday, that the mining department is waiting for the re-drafting of Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMRD) act by the centre.
Kamat told the council, chaired by Goa governor Dr S S Sidhu, that there is no point in having state mines policy till state goes through re-drafted MMRD act.
Union Environment and Forest Ministry had put moratorium on further mining activity in the state in the absence of state mines policy, this year.
Goa government has already formed draft mining policy which is yet to take the final shape.
Goa exports around 40 million tones of iron ore through its two ports - Mormugao Port Trust and Panaji Port.
The council which met at Raj Bhavan on Thursday also discussed measures to reduce the response time in case of calamity.
The Governor said that the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), a research institute of council of scientific and industrial research, is asked to conduct a comprehensive survey on impact of climate change in the state.
"NIO will submit the exact situation on the state's coast to the state government," Sidhu said adding that the corrective action could be initiated in consultation with the institute.
The best mining policy would be to ban all the new mining activities in the State and to phase out the existing ones!
This would greatly help in putting a halt to the destruction of the environments, waterbodies,topography of this small State and halt the in-migration of the labour and reduce crime rate!
This would also save some natural resources for the future generation or a time may come when we will have to import the ore may be from China!
It is unfortunate that the State never receives due compensation for the depletion of its natural resources and the comprehensive destruction the mining activities cause!