A committee of experts constituted by the Goa Government has
recommended a cap on extraction of iron ore in the coastal state to 20-25
million tonnes (MT), which is almost half the existing exports.
The panel headed by the renowned scientist Mr Raghunath
Mashelkar in their Goa Vision 2035 report, submitted to the State Government
yesterday, has recommended that the cap on mining should be between 20-25 MT
per year, exclusive of the mining dumps.
Mining dumps are low grade ore rejects which are piled up in
the mining leases and outside it and now have become marketable because of its
international demand.
The GGJDC (Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council) said that
Goa cannot have unlimited mining, given its ecological sensitivity, and
demanding that the cap should be such that it will protect the environment and
social well being of the state, without affecting the citizens who are
dependent on mining for their livelihood.
The GGJDC has also recommended closure of mines that have
been extracting ore beyond limits allowed by environment clearance, given by
the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. The mines, if any, operating
within wildlife sanctuaries should be closed and leases in the buffer of dams
should be terminated, it said.
Source: The Business Line
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