Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today directed the officials of DMG, Forest, Environment to expedite the next round of auction of mining blocks and other pending issues.
CM Sawant chaired a High Level Meeting on Mining in the presence of Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goyal, DGP_Goa Jaspal Singh and other officials.
He further also reviewed issues related to mining of major minerals.
“Discussed issues related to minor mining industry like obtaining environmental clearances, lease renewal, approval of quarry plan, issue of royalty/transit pass, fines, etc” he added
Sawant also gave directions to officials to clear pending issues in time bound manner.
The Goa government had in 2013, through an amendment in the Land Revenue Code, allowed those who had illegally dumped rejects outside the leases to ‘regularise’ their dumps by paying a penalty referred to as conversion fees. A total of ₹200 crore was collected back then.
The issue of whether dumps can be handled was pending before the Supreme Court, which had prohibited handling the dump materials until the top court decides the issue.
The chief minister ruled out fears that the machinery and manpower from outside Goa would be employed by successful bidders of these blocks.
He said the state government will ensure that these mining companies employ local machines and manpower.