By IANS,
Panaji : Goa’s Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar has alleged that nearly one-fifth of the state’s mineral exports are illegally mined.
Speaking during the question hour of the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly Friday, Parrikar also charged the government with being hand-in-glove with the illegal mining lobby.
“Nearly 18 percent of the 33 crore tonnes exported is illegally mined. This can be ascertained from the difference in the ore officially extracted in Goa and the amount of ore exported,” Parrikar said.
Grilling Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who also holds the mining portfolio, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader alleged that the illegal mining industry was worth Rs.700 crore.
“Why is the government not acting on this,” he asked.
“There is evidence to show that the government has no will to penalise illegal mining. The high-level committee (headed by chief forest conservator Shashi Kumar) points out several instances where illegal mining is being carried out in contravention of forest norms and yet these firms are extracting thousands of tonnes of ore,” Parrikar said.
The Shashi Kumar committee report was submitted in the assembly Monday.
Illegal mining has become a hotly debated issue in Goa, with green activists alleging that several ministers in the Congress-led coalition government were indulging in illegal extraction of ore.
Nearly 100 mining tracts have been leased out for extraction of manganese, iron and bauxite ores in Goa, which exports about 33 million tonnes of ore annually, primarily to China and Japan.