The Goa govt told SC that all mining was ‘illegal’ (Herald)

April 30, 2014

   AG  Nadkarni’s submissions prove that the Parrikar govt strengthened the court’s line on deemed renewals

  Nadkarni specified that deemed extension working was “illegal” mining

  Goa govt went on overdrive to emphasize wrongs of the Digambar govt

 

 

TEAM HERALD

 

PANJIM: As the different layers of the Supreme Court judgment on Goa mining are getting pealed like onion skins, each page in the operative part of the judgment is leaving mining players teary eyed. 

Even as the future, whenever the future happens, of mining looks to be controlled, limited and organized, the mining industry is still battling to figure if the state of Goa was with them or against them during its long struggle in the Supreme Court. The biggest albatross around its neck has been the issue of deemed renewals on the basis of which the entire mining industry was run. The manner in which the Supreme Court interpreted Rule 24 sub rule 6 of the Mineral Concession Rules to state that deemed renewals were illegal has been explained in the first part of this package (Edition of April 29). 

This part focuses on the way the government of Goa actually played its role in the Supreme Court, in the wake of the overwhelming belief that the Goa government was batting for the mine owners. In reality what happened was that the government was batting purely for its own self in trying to impress upon the court that it is indeed doing a cleanup act. In trying to do so, it actually made submissions that spelt the death knell for the industry, even though it ultimately managed to get the ban lifted. Where it did succeed heavily was establishing a clear cut argument that the previous government of Digambar Kamat was using the the deemed renewal route to allow mining to carry on. While the Mineral Concession Rules does not make it illegal in letter but unethical in spirit, it is the state government which submitted in as many words that mining in Goa was “illegal”.

A study of the summary submissions of the state Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni in the Supreme Court pretty much indicates the way the government’s mind worked in court. Here is Nadkarni’s submission on deemed extensions “ In the considered opinion of the state government, allowing the working of the mine on such a full scale based on the Deemed Extension status is completely out of the ordinary and uncalled for. Strictly speaking, in law, it would merely amount to illegal working of mines, save and except for the fact the then state government had itself allowed it.” 

 While in effect this submission put the blame completely on Digambar Kamat’s executive governance or the lack of it, the court has clearly interpreted this as an affirmation by the state government that the deemed extension method was illegal. This has led to a piquant situation where the government’s attempt to support the industry by saying that applications for renewal are filed well within their time frame, has been nullified by the overall judgment, which in effect cancels all leases.

The ultimate fallout for the state has been this. Its detailed pitch on how it was cleaning up mining did not result in the desired order of restarting the mines that were shut through the same operators. Some of the Goa government’s points were finalizing the draft mineral  and storage and transportation policy, amending the Stamp Act and stoppage of unregulated dump handling.

 http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/The-Goa-govt-told-SC-that-all-mining-was-lsquo-illegal-rsquo/88169.html