Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa In-charge Atishi today announced Advocate Amit Palekar as the new state president.
AAP also announced the names of its MLA Capt Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva as working President.
Alina Saldanha and Mahadev Naik have led the AAP campaign for the upcoming panchayat polls in Goa.
Speaking on a hike on export duty on ore,
Palekar said that the duty of 50%, even on low-grade ore, has essentially sounded the death knell for the mining industry in Goa as we know it.
“Most of the ore in Goa is low-grade, for which there was no export duty. However, with a sudden imposition of a duty of 50%, it will not be financially viable for the low-grade ore to be extracted,” Palekar said.
Saying that this leaves the ‘entire industry at the mercy of very few private players’, Palekar said it was yet another act by BJP to turn over our natural resources to a select few.
“Since the ore cannot be exported, the proposed auction of mining leases in Goa will be monopolised by a couple of private companies who already have ore beneficiation and steel manufacturing capacity,” he said.