"Cancel mining leases, auction like coal blolck; Goa earns Rs 80K Cr"
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 25 September 2015 21:07 IST
Goa Foundation has challenged the renewal of 88 mining leases before the Supreme Court, claiming it to be blatantly illegal and causing a loss of nearly Rs 80,000 crore to Goa’s state treasury.
According to Dr Claude Alvares, director of Goa Foundation, Goa government has renewed the leases in violation of the Supreme Court order as well as provisions laid down in the MMDR Act and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
"We want these mining renewed mining leases to be cancelled since thye are blatantly illegal", says Dr Alvares.
Instead of renewing the leases without following the laid down norms, he feels the government should auction the leases so that Goa earns around Rs 80,000 crore.
In order to strengthen his argument, he also cites examples of coal block auction, which accrued around Rs 3.5 lakh crore and 2G spectrum auction, with which the government earned Rs one lakh crore.
“Goa government has committed an offence under section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act by handing over leases to the same lease holders for mining a total annual production of 44 million tonnes”, he told goanews.com.
Goa Foundation has apparently taken a next step of approaching the Supreme Court since there was no response to its complaint filed before Directorate of Vigilance, on 17 June, against chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and other officials.
The complaint charges that Parsekar and other officials entered into a conspiracy to renew 88 mining leases to several persons in Goa. These renewals were carried out for extraneous considerations and appear to be corrupt acts, as per the facts listed in the complaint. (CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL COMPLAINT)
Goa Foundation quantifies its claim as follows, stating that the following calculation is based on an eight year historical weighted average (2004-2012):
CALCULATING ORE EXTRACTION OF 44 MT
|
1 |
Total quantity permitted for extraction as per ECs granted in 88 leases: |
43.973 million metric tonnes (MMT), for at least 12 years (Nov-Jan 2014 – 21-Nov-2027) |
|
2 |
Value of mineral ore @ Rs. 311.12 crores per MMT |
Rs. 164,172 crores
|
|
3 |
Extraction costs for 43.973 million tonnes @ Rs. 120.25 crores per MMT |
Rs. 63,453 crores
|
|
4 |
Net value of iron ore @ Rs. 190.87 crores per MMT |
Rs. 100,720 crores
|
|
5 |
Royalty @ Rs. 8.46 crores per MMT to Goa Govt |
Rs. 4,467 crores |
|
6 |
Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund @ 10% of sale value, Rs. 31.11 crores per MMT |
Rs. 16,417 crores
|
|
7 |
Net loss to the public of Goa: Rs. 151 crores per MMT |
Rs. 79,836 crores |
CALCULATING ORE EXTRACTION OF 20 MT, IN CASE OF CAPPING
|
1 |
Total quantity permitted for extraction as per ECs granted in 88 leases: |
20 million metric tonnes (MMT), for at least 12 years (Nov-Jan, 2014 – 21-Nov-2027) |
|
2 |
Value of mineral ore @ Rs. 311.12 crores per MMT |
Rs. 74,669 crores
|
|
3 |
Extraction costs for 20 million tonnes @ Rs. 120.25 crores per MMT |
Rs. 28,860 crores
|
|
4 |
Net value of iron ore @ Rs. 190.87 crores per MMT |
Rs. 45,810 crores |
|
5 |
Royalty @ Rs. 8.46 crores per MMT to Goa Govt |
Rs. 2,032 crores
|
|
6 |
Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund @ 10% of sale value, Rs. 31.11 crores per MMT |
7,467 crores |
|
7 |
Net loss to the public of Goa: Rs. 151.30 crores per MMT |
Rs. 36,311 crores
|
GF Complaint to Vigilance Department
Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr Menezes - Fathers of the Goan liberation
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Dr Claude Alvares- Saviour of modern Goa