Goemkarponn desk
PONDA: It’s the willpower that is needed to restart Mining in Goa, said GMPF leader Puti Gaonkar. He said that since 2018 after the SC order quashing aside the second renewal, GMPF has been demanding to restart Mining in Goa.
He said that SC, in its order, had nowhere asked to stop Mining in Goa but had asked to take over leases in six months’ time.
“But the Government neither had intentions nor willpower at that time to start mining in Goa,” he said. GMPF leader Puti Gaonkar questioned who stopped Government from restarting Mining for four years after the 2018 SC order.
“In its order in 2018, he said SC had nowhere had asked Government not to restart the mining procedure. Even GMPF was demanding to restart Mining by auction or forming a mining corporation. However, the Government was misleading the people of Goa and Mining dependent that the mining issue is pending in Court. It was even possible at that time after taking possession of mines,” he said.
He questioned whether Court has given any fresh order on restarting Mining?.
Puti Gaonkar was reacting after the Government issued notices to mining firms asking them to vacate 88 leases. He said he welcomes the Government’s clearing ways for fresh auctioning of mining leases.
He alleged that the Government wasted four years in 2018 restarting mining procedures with ulterior motives. He once again reiterated that the Government should put a condition to a bidder that the retrenched workers, trucks, and machinery owners of existing mining leases should get a job at the time of fresh auction of leases failing which mining dependent would come out on the road to protest.
He had earlier made the same demand on 22 April when CM Pramod Sawant declared his intention of auctioning mining leases in Goa.
“We welcome if Government restarts Mining, but If Government conducts e-auctioning of all Mining leases to restart Mining than it will have to employ all the existing workers, machinery owners, truck owners etc. who were retrenched at time of closure of Mining failing which GMPF will stage agitation against the restart of Mining. We are informing the Government that if our demand is not fulfilled, we will stage massive agitation,” he said.
He further said that if the Government is really serious, they should restart Mining in a short period.
According to his claims, he even challenged Goa Foundation leader Cloud Alvares to buy mining leases, operate them, run in profit, and prove beneficial to the public.
When asked when the surface right of mining leases vested with leaseholders is it possible to auction those leases, he said he can’t deny that the auction process may be stuck in litigations if mine owners files petition delaying the restart of Mining.
He said there is an option government can acquire land for mining leases. But then it will have to pay five times more for buying.
He recalled the promise by Government in 2018 to mining dependent. He recalled that after the mining closure in 2018, the mining dependent took out morcha at Panaji.
“Thereafter there was one meeting of GMPF which was held with then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, speaker Pramod Sawant with Vishwajeet Rane and Nilesh Cabral where former CM Parrikar had promised us that if Government conducts an auction of mining leases than Government would put terms and condition to leaseholder that the existing mining worker, truck owners, machinery owner working with those leases at time of closure would get first preference in jobs,” he said.
Puti Gaonkar further said that GMPF was, since 2018, saying that if the Government wishes, it can restart mining leases at any time and with CM Pramod Sawant making no such statement, it is proved today.
