Goa mining mess: Industry at breaking pointhttp://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/goa-mining-mess-industry-at-breaking-point_795529.html
Three months ago mine by Sesa Goa was one of Goa's busiest mines. Every year 4.5 million tons of iron ore was mined, and the placed was abuzz with 1500 employed men who worked there every day. However, ever since the ban on iron ore mining has been imposed in Goa since September this year, there's only a deafening silence.
Further, the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee's recent recommendation that mining should not resume in 42 of the state's mines because of environmental and encroachment concerns is only making matters worse for the ailing industry. So is the CEC's insistance that the Reclamation & Rehabilitation plan be implemented by companies before resuming mining.
Ambar Timblo, MD, Fomento Mines, Panjim says, “The mining season had been off which is an annual thing and was just beginning to start when the ban happened and miners have gone without cash for four months.”
The situation is grim especially for Sesa Goa, which mines around 14mn tons annually, a third of Goa's total production. It’s production in the first half of this fiscal has dropped by 32% from 5.5mn tons last fiscal to 3.7mn tons this fiscal.
And since Sept, it has dropped to nil.
PK Mukherjee, MD, Sesa Goa adds, “There's nothing to be quantified. Everything is shut. Our mining revenue is zero.”
The Goa government seems more concerned about unemployment arising out of this ban. It is working on an action plan that includes setting up a special team to scrutinize all mining leases for possibilities of illegal extraction.
Manohar Parrikar, CM, Goa adds, “It is constitutional right; please allow me to govern, clean up the mess. I am accountable for it."
RK Verma, Principal Secy, Goa says, “It is not a resources problem, it’s a human problem. Finding work for so many jobless people is not easy.”
Miners, at their end, are hoping for some relief when the SC hears the case next month pinning their hopes for at least partial resumption of operations.
CEC has recommended the implementation of the Reclamation & Rehabilitation plan before mining companies could resume operations. However, given that this process would take over a year, miners intend to appeal to the SC to allow mining to resume while simultaneously bringing in measures to keep mining irregularities at bay. |
