May 15, 2014
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: To ensure that there is no illegal transportation of iron ore from Cavrem mining lease; Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday ordered re-inspection of ore stacked at the mine owned by Dinar Tarcar. As per government record there is around three lakh metric tons of ore, of which two lakh metric tons have been e-auctioned.
Parrikar, who is Minister for Mines, said that government would be drafting a proper policy on mining between June and July in consultation with the new Central government and mining stakeholders. “While granting leases to mining firms, the prime criteria would be to employ all those local workers who are either retrenched or laid off,” he said.
The agitated Cavrem villagers led by panch Ravindra Velip met Chief Minister in Panjim Wednesday evening and demanded a stop to the transportation, re-inspection and re-estimate of ore and that the government should take possession of the ore stacked at the lease bearing TC 59/51. The villagers have been protesting since May 7.
Clarifying that following Supreme Court order, government is the owner of all the iron ore stacked in different parts of the State, Parrikar directed officials of Directorate of Mines and Geology to conduct re-inspection of ore at the site on Monday and furnish a report.
“I agree there could be extra ore but there is need to verify whether it is a dump or not. Re-inspection will make the picture clearer,” Parrikar told the villagers, who claimed that there is nearly 7 lakh metric tons of ore at the lease site.
Refuting the fact that there is illegal transportation, Chief Minister stated that the transportation has been done as per Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee guidelines.
“Also if today I don’t give concession to the bidder in transporting the ore they have purchased during the e-auction, no company will participate in the next auction. We can’t take that chance,” he said.
Parrikar said that transportation has been done through trucks having vehicle tracking system only and they have been issued trip sheets. “So far we don’t have any transport contractors. When mining resumes in actual, we would be registering contractors with conditions that only local truck operators should be allowed to transport,” he said.
Mines department has so far received 50 applications from various transport contractors, the same are under scrutiny.
Chief Minister however turned down the demand of the villagers, who proposed formation of a co-operative to handle all the mining activities in the village in the interest of State. “Villagers cannot control mining and its related activities,” he commented.
…says illegalities occurred during ‘secular’ government’s rule
PANJIM: Two days after Council for Social Justice and Peace took the BJP-led government head-on on the mining issue; Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar took a dig at the Church stating that the illegalities pointed out by them occurred when the “secular” government was in power in Goa.
“I would be replying to the Church in the next eight to 10 days. Whatever irregularities or illegalities they have pointed out occurred during the ‘secular’ government’s rule,” Parrikar told media persons Wednesday evening.
The CSJP, the social wing of the Church in Goa, through a letter to Chief Minister on Monday demanded recovery of Rs 65000 crore illegal mining loot and setting up of a public sector undertaking (PSU) for conducting mining activities in future.
Training its gun on politicos, CSJP said, “Political Parties who have accepted funding from such mining companies during the said period are morally bound to deposit all this money in the State treasury.”
The church body, expressed distress at the manner in which successive governments had been in cahoots with the mining companies and had "only lobbied and defended the interests of the 'mining lobby' instead of defending the larger interests of the directly affected people and the State.
http://www.oheraldo.in/News/Local%20News/CM-orders-re-inspection-of-ore-at-Dinar-rsquo-s-mine/88687.html
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