Panaji, Nov 13 (IANS) The Goa government is working on a plan which could potentially lead to auctioning of the state’s mining leases, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said here Wednesday.
Parrikar told reporters that the state government was “working” on a plan which could lead to auctioning of the 100-plus iron and manganese ore mines in the state.
“I am working on something. The moment we have a plan we will tell you,” Parrikar told reporters here.
The Supreme Court has, for the first time in the history of iron ore mining in Goa, ordered e-auctioning of already extracted iron ore of nearly 15 million tonnes.
In colonial times, the mining leases in Goa were given to local families who were close to the Portuguese regime and continue to be renewed by the state governments even after the liberation of Goa in 1961.
While the total leases in Goa were in excess of 800, the number has whittled down to nearly 600 due to failure to renew the lease concessions and disinterest of the lease-holders.
The BJP government scrapped 252 of these leases nearly all of which non-operational, even as all mining in Goa has been banned following a Supreme Court order.
A judicial commission appointed by the central government has exposed a Rs.25,000 crore illegal mining scam in Goa in which politicians, bureaucrats, mining companies and top businessmen are linked.