3 more companies to follow Sesa, start mining by Oct
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 25 August 2015 21:15 IST
Following Vedanta, three more mining lease holders – Salgaoncar, Fomento and Chowgules – will start mining, soon after Chovoth.
The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association (GMOEA) has confirmed it officially.
And Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has now conveyed it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We discussed the mining scenario and I told him that at least four companies would start mining by October”, said Parsekar.
He, along with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, met Modi today in the national capital.
Mining in Goa was banned since September 2012, with Shah Commission citing a multi-crore scandal.
The Supreme Court, after hearing all the sides, had lifted the ban in May last year while directing the central and state government to comply with various regulations.
Pursuant to the apex court judgement May and a related judgement in the Bombay High Court at Goa in August last year, the GMOEA said both the governments have complied with the court directives.
"Post these compliances a number of the state's mineral resources companies like Vedanta Limited, V M Salgaoncar Brother, Fomento Resources, Chowgule Pvt Ltd, etc, have confirmed their intent and initiated preparatory acts to begin mining related activities commencing after monsoon by October this year," said GMOEA secretary Glenn Kalavampara.
They plan to initiate the process soon after Chovoth, Goa’s major festival of Hindu community, which begins on 17th September and runs for a fortnight.
Vedanta has already launched its mining operations.
The Supreme Court has imposed an annual cap of 20 million tonnes on iron ore extraction.
Prior to the ban, Goa’s iron ore extraction had touched 50 million tonnes annually, which led to uncontrolled mining and the subsequent ban.
