Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Public Interest Litigation banning the transportation of iron ore across the State of Goa is pending before the Bombay High Court and arguments are ongoing in the matter.
In the course of a hearing on 19 June 2024, Advocate for the Petitioner Norma Alvares argued before the Court to restrict the number of trips for iron ore trucks to 20-40 trips per hour as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the Directorate of Mines & Geology.
Adv. Norma pointed out that any transportation of iron ore on public roads has to be restricted to the above number.
The issue arises from the non-issuance of permits by the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) for the use of non-village roads including national/ state highways & Major Distt Roads (MDR) for transportation of iron ore from Bicholim Mining Block-Block 1.
Owing to this there have been significant disruptions to ore transport operations, severely impacting the livelihoods of truck owners who have invested heavily in repairs and maintenance of trucks, anticipating long-term operations following the resumption of mining.
In response to the non-receipt of permits, the association has stated that the route proposed to be used for transporting of ore from Bicholim Block 1 will utilize an approximately 5.84km road stretch to reach the Sarmanas Jetty, with only 0.9 km designated as MDR-20 and it completely avoids any village or village road. According to the Trucker Owners’ Association, ore-carrying trucks will be crossing the Maem-Bicholim road at only one point, covering 10-15 meters only. This route has been adopted previously as well and has been in use for over 4 decades and they are committed to following all road safety protocols.
The Truck Owners Association, Transport Association and Truck Drivers are the worst affected sections of the Society from the ongoing ban over the transportation of iron ore in the entire State of Goa.
The Association also expressed its concern over the apprehension of such hourly trip restriction as it would make the transportation business economically unviable in the State of Goa and would cause major unemployment for the truck drivers, cleaners and other individuals associated with the transportation business in the State.
Subhash Kinalkar, President, the Truck Owner Association of Sesa Mining, said: “The non-receipt of permits from DMG is severely impacting the livelihoods of truck owners and workers. We will be using only a 900m stretch of a road designated as MDR-20 and that too with extreme caution and safety.
“If the number of trips are reduced to 20-40 per hour then only 50 trucks per day will be used, whereas we have already invested in the repair and upkeep of nearly 200 trucks. What will happen to our families if this restriction is imposed? This argument attempts to measure all roads in the State of Goa in one single yardstick for restricting the number of trips to 20-40 per hour,” he asked.
He added, that restricting trips disregards the merit of reviewing the load-bearing capacity of each road by the Directorate of Mines & Geology/ MOEF which would vary on a case-to-case basis.
“As an example, all the National Highways, and Major District Roads in the State of Goa would pass through some village or the other but would have a far better load-bearing capacity as compared to a village road We urge that a reasonable solution be found as our deteriorating condition is leading to a collective loss of approx. Rs 10 lacs per day,” he said.
The Environmental Clearance (EC) for Bicholim Mining Block- Block 1 permits transportation of 3MT of iron ore annually , roughly 12650 tons of ore is required to be transported per day and the EC permits the mine operator, approx. 1200 truck trips per day.. Going by the yardstick of 20-40 trucks per hour and that approx, he states.
Kinalkar says 9 hours of transportation is permitted, the total trips will range between 180-360 per day, which would be enough to transport at best 4000 tons of ore per day and at worst 2000 tons.
“This would be severely short of the requirement and will eventually lead to sub-optimal levels of ore transportation and will impact the planned revenues of the government. Presently, around 75 cr in revenue, including royalties, is expected to be netted by the Govt. of Goa per month, but with the restriction on truck numbers to 20-40 per hour, it will result in a revenue loss of 50cr-60cr per month. When assessed annually the shortfall in revenues will grow exponentially to the tune of 600 cr to 700 cr,” he added.
Mining has recently resumed in Goa after a hiatus of 6 years, with the nature of issues being faced by mining operators and mining dependants and the restrictions on ore transportation that may be imposed, will negatively impact the investment climate in this sector, he says.
“A number of mining auctions are still due and it may happen that akin to the telecom industry, there may not be many takers for the high premiums to be paid while the returns are unlikely to cover basic costs for the operators. The mining sector may witness a gradual demise, which will limit and stunt Goa’s economic progress. The spin-off effect on investment climate cannot be ruled out as other sectors and businesses too would be vary of the lack of ‘ease of doing business’ in Goa,” he says.
While environmental concerns need to be factored in, however, a just and balanced view needs to be taken in the matter.
The Truckers’ Association is hopeful that a reasonable solution will be arrived at & that the decision makers will take a positive view of the situation in view of the severe impact on the livelihoods and financial condition of the thousands of mining dependants.
