Mining scam a wake-up call for Goa: Church - Herald

October 17, 2012 Team Herald teamherald@herald-goa.com PANJIM: The Church in Goa through a Press statement issued through the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), on Tuesday made its most unambiguous statement yet on the rampant illegalities in the mining sector that have led to the suspension of all mining activity and came out in support of Goans “who for years struggled and suffered in the pursuit of protection of the environment and human rights (and) who now stand vindicated”. Economic activities must first benefit the local people, who along with the industry are equal stake-holders of the common natural resources. The current mining crisis is a wake-up call for the State Government and the people of Goa to relook at all economic policies for their sustainability and adherence to human rights seriously, the statement said. The CSJP statement added: “Unregulated and illegal mining resulting in growing depletion of ground water, acute respiratory ailments due to air pollution, destruction of farm lands, threat of landslides and floods, fatal accidents and deaths on roads due to over speeding of mining trucks, restriction of movement of the local people due to traffic congestion, and noise pollution, are just some of the problems faced by the people affected by the mining activity.” While expressing its sympathy to the cause to innocent victims of the mining crisis, the Council expressed its concern over the “number of criminal cases by the government and the mining lobby ~ pending in various courts ~ in a bid to silence innocent local people who dared protest against the violation of their human rights by the mining industry”. “While the government considers proposals for compensating those who have lost their livelihoods due to the ban on mining, the Council demands that all pending criminal cases against anti-mining activists be withdrawn as their stand against the excesses and illegalities in mining is now established by the Shah Commission report and found reasonable. This is reflected in the ban imposed by the Supreme Court,” the statement said. Putting the mining scam in perspective, laying the blame where it ought to be laid, and expressing its sympathy for the innocent victims of the greed of the illegal mining companies, the Church said it also profoundly shares the concerns and distress of the Goan community due to the social and economic consequences of the suspension of mining operations in the State and expressed its concern for the thousands of mine workers who have lost their livelihood all of a sudden, and the small time entrepreneurs (single truck owners) who are facing huge debts and the threat of losing everything due to their inability to repay their bank loans. “It is a clarion call for the Goan community to rally through a humane and compassionate response towards many of those innocent people struck by misfortune due to no fault of theirs, while they also explore alternative avenues for their employment.” In a clear nudge to the government to ensure what the Herald has termed as the “days of robber barons” are over for good, the Church said: “These trying times offer us an opportunity to responsibly ponder on the road to be taken for the future by finding resources to live in dignity through the help of nature itself, as well to take decisions for strengthening the covenant between human beings and environment, as emphasized in the Encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate’ (CIV 50) of Pope Benedict XVI.” As the Goan people are in the grip of the illegal mining dilemma, the Council addresses the Goan community and its policy makers to reiterate the invaluable principles on development as summed up from the Pastoral Letter (2011-2012) of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman titled ‘Covenant between Human Beings And Creation: Divine Love’s Manifestation’ ~ that “integral development needs to be God-centric, Person-centric and Eco-centric”. It would also be worth reflecting, the statement added, on what Pope Benedict XVI has written in the Encyclical (CIV 21): “Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end that provides as a sense of both, of how to produce it and how to make good use of it. Once the profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means without common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.” http://oheraldo.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/Mining-scam-a-wake-up-call-for-Goa-Church/65719.html