Recover the loot & give compensation: Gawas
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 11 March 2013 21:02 IST
Ramesh Gawas, the activist fighting illegal mining, feels that mining dependent people could be paid even Rs 20,000 per month, but only after recovering the illegal loot from the mine owners and not from existing public treasury.
Reacting to the doles announced in different categories by Goa government to the mining dependent people, Gawas said he is not against the scheme in principle but the way it has been done.
“Why is the government paying this money from public exchequer and not recover it from the mine owners”, he asks.
Forget the loot of Rs 35,000 crore mentioned in the Shah Commission report, Gawas feels that chief minister Manohar Parrikar should recover the loot of Rs 3200 crore he has mentioned in his own Public Accounts Committee report.
“If he can allow one company to transport the iron ore in spite of a ban and also get revenue from the stamp duty, then he can definitely also recover the money he has mentioned in his own report”, opined Gawas.
The teacher-turned-activist also said neither he nor his other colleagues fighting illegal mining have ever opposed compensation to the genuine mining-dependent people.
The government has announced relief in different categories from mining workers to truck drivers to truck and barge owners, ranging between Rs 3000 to Rs 12,000 per month.
However, Gawas felt that the whole exercise appeared to be an investment towards forthcoming Lok Sabha election and not a genuine attempt to penalize the ones who looted Goa.
Why bother the Looting Miners,when the Tax-Payers money can be looted.?
Parrikar worships the Miners.