Panaji, Dec 8, 2008 : Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, stated Wednesday that the state government will auction off mining leases to restart the Goa’s beleaguered mining sector. Sawant spoke to reporters at State Secretariat and said that the rules for setting up a state-operated mining corporation or auctioning had been sent to Law department of the state government for finalisation.
“We have taken 100% steps to (restart) mining.The law department has received the rules.Sawant stated that we are going to auction, and the government is firm.”
The Goa government roped in the State Bank of India last month to facilitate the December 15 auction of “six to eight iron ore mining blocks”.
The Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited has been appointed by the Goa government as a central government concern for the exploration of nearly 90 state mining leases for mineral prospects.
The auction of iron ore mineral blocks for sale will be conducted under the auspices of the newly formed Goa Mineral Development Corporation.
This corporation was established earlier this year to help restart the mining industry.
Since 2018, fresh mining excavations in the state have been stopped by the Supreme Court of India, who revoked 88 mining leases for irregularities.
The Goa government’s decision not to use the auctioning route to start mining is coming before the 2022 state Assembly elections.The ruling BJP-led coalition dispensation has been criticized for not being able restart the mining sector, which at its peak accounted almost 30 percent of the state’s gross domestic product.
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