Shah Comn recommends cases against mine owners & recovery of Rs 35,000 Cr
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 10 September 2012 00:46 IST
Original lease in Yellow & encroachment in White
Justice M B Shah Commission has strongly recommended that criminal cases be filed against all the mine owners involved in illegal encroachment of land and extraction of iron ore, while also recovering the total cost of the iron ore exported.
The Commission has identified total 2796.24 hectares of land being encroached upon illegally, out of which 578.42 hectares of land being used for illegally extracting iron ore.
Total 100 lessees have been listed in the report, including three unknown ones who have extracted iron ore near Netravali wild life sanctuary and the Selaulim dam.
Totp 10 among them have been listed in the report who have supposedly encroached upon 1620 hecatres of land. It amounts to 58 per cent of the total land encroached upon.
The total iron ore extracted illegally has been roughly calculated at 12.73 lakh metric tonnes during the period of 2006 to 2011.
The total cost, at the rate of $ 60 per metric tonne, has been estimated at around Rs 35,000 crore.
The Shah Commission has strongly recommended that this amount be recovered from all these lessee.
The state government, which has announced that FIR would be filed against the government officials as well as the ministers involved in this illegality, however has been silent on this strong recommendation of the Shah Commission.
The Commission has even listed out all the sections relating to the offences committed by the mine owners.
It includes Section 4(1) and 4(1-A) of MM (DR) Act, 1957 as well as theft of iron ore
under Indian Penal Code.
The whole report is available on the website of Union Ministry of Mines, as Shah Commission Report Part I and II.
Part II contains details of encroachment in Chapter 5 whereas the Google maps of these encroachments are available in 5A and 6A.
The chapter 5 in Part II of the report states as follows:
“During the survey it has been noted that many of the lessees have crossed the lease boundaries and illegally extracted minerals from outside leased areas. 502.21 Ha. are under encroachment of this kind. This is a serious offence and considered as theft of the government property i.e. iron ore which is removed from non leased area.”
“In addition it has been found that the forest area admeasuring 6.21 Ha. plus 70.p Ha. i.e. total 76.21, is encroached by some unknown persons who are not having any lease hold right. In the result, there is an encroachment of total area 502.21 Ha. plus 76.21 i.e. 578.42 Ha.”
The Shah Commission has thus also recommended to the state government the following:
“ The State Government should take immediate action to recover market cost of the iron ore illegally extracted after having proven estimation (by using 3D LESSER technology, Coal India Limited) or others from outside the leased areas with exemplary penalty along with criminal cases to be filed against the lessees and department officials. The cost incurred due to estimation should be recovered from the extractors.”
Regarding the recovery of the cost, the Shah Commission states as under:
“Secondly, in addition to prosecution for the occupants (mentioned in the Table 2), who have extracted/removed iron ore from outside the lease area, the cost of iron ore at export rate with the exemplary penalty, of whatever grade of mineral extracted from the said pits, should be recovered under Section 21(5) of MM(DR) Act, 1957.”
It is high time that, Parrikar Govt acts boldly on these multimilioannairres. They have looted the entire state and cheated Goans... General public is struggling for their livelihood and these people are enjoying even after their proven misdeeds.
General public have to face trial and face police enquiry for silly things.
How can these Mine Owners do such misdeeds and still live a cool life.... ?
This crores of rupees looted by few of Goa's mine owners is the eye opener. They have been looting our prime wealth for decades now. All the goans who are dependent on mining business should remember that they too are the culprits and partners in crime. Salgaonkars, Bandekars, Chowgule looted Goa for decades in collusion with the politicians and lethargic goan bureaucracy. It is high time, that all goans should come together and even to streets to fight against these few mine owners to close down their shops. As per the recommendations of Shah commission, all the ill gotten wealth must be recovered from these looters. These mine owners and their families should be ostracized from the society. Any sound minded goan who comes across these mine owners in public or private should stay away from greeting these people. A proud and patriotic Goan should stop doing any business with these people. No supplier should sell their wares to them. Their offsprijngs must be denied any admission to any schools. Remember the case of grandson of Egypt's ex president Husni Mubarak? He was thrown out of the school and no one admitted him to any school. Similarly, the family members and the children of these so called mine owners, should be shunted out of our schools, colleges, educational institutions. We need a revolution in Goa against these corrupt mine owners and any politician who has accumulated I'll gotten wealth. Unless and until people of goa come to street and raise their voices against these criminals, the loot of goa will never end. It is unbeleiavable' that politicians on one side, bureaucrats on the other and now the mine owners on the the third front looting Goa's prized wealth left and right. Is there any law? Does any one try to follow it? I hope, Mr. parrikar, who is upright and honest person, will stop all the mess and looting. He should not only promise but also act. Justice delayed is justicec denied. Please act quickly. Start proceedings against these criminals involved in illegal mining. Don't spare any one. Whether he is Salgaoncar or Bandekar or Bandodkar. All are criminals. Law is same for all. Act now. We Goans want justice. We want to see these people behind the bars, including ex CM, Digambar and Rane and Loliencar. It is un imaginable, that the crime of such magnificent nature could be committed by these Goa's established mine owners for the sake of greed. Shameless creatures who have looted ours mother Goa!
JAI HO PARRI ... long awaited mining n illegal mining ... stooped... .. time to ffind out the corrupt.. Parrikar Hats off tuka ... never in History ....Vallor//