The Goa Cabinet passed a policy approving export of iron ore from dumps to the tune of 10-20 million tonnes lying outside, said Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant.
The government bound for elections in less than two months is counting on the recent amendment to the Mineral Concession Rules which it claims allows the state, in consultation with IBM, to dispose of low-grade mineral, overburden, beneficiation waste.
It is also relying on its 2013 dump policy, passed by the previous Goa government under the late Manohar Parrikar, to collect fines from errant lessees who had dumped such low-grade ore outside of leaseholds. A particular issue in Goa where leases granted by the Portuguese were limited to a 100 ha.
Some Rs 200 odd crores were collected by amending land revenue laws to regularise these violations. Sawant, also referred to the six -member expert committee appointed by the SC and tasked with deciding how Goa should deal with these dumps.
Owners of the dumps that have been regularised, will be allowed to sell their material paying the state a royalty, said the Chief Minister, while the state will auction those dumps that have not been regularised.
The MCR clause he cites, clause (k) of subrule (1) in Rule 12 reads: “…in case of overburden or the waste rock or the mineral below the threshold value, which is generated during the course of mining or beneficiation of the mineral; or any minor mineral extracted along with the mineral for which lease is granted, the State Government in consultation with the Indian Bureau of Mines may, by order permit the lessee to dispose of such material in such quantity and in such manner as may be specified therein, on such payment as may be decided by the State Government.”
The clause implies a leasehold and in Goa’s context the ownership of these is dumps is also contested after the SC decided that the leases had lapsed in 2007, according to some experts. The committee’s report referred to by the CM awaits the approval of the SC which has, in more than one matter including Goa’s mining case, barred any mining activity outside the lease.
Mining, capped at 20 million tonnes in Goa, once contributed 15-16 percent of state revenues. The Goa government, and Sawant who hails from the mining belt himself has been keen on a resumption one way or another. And has made several announcements, including the setting up of a corporation and auction of certain freeholds but steered away from auctioning the operating leases.
While removal of dumps widely seen as an environmental nuisance has the approval of Goa Foundation — the NGO whose petition led to mining being halted in the state — Sawant’s proposal may not be welcome. Moved by the NGO against the state government’s permission to ex-lessee Mineira Nacional Limitada for despatch of ore from dumps, the High Court of Bombay at Goa stayed such despatch from dumps. Goa Foundation had argued that the matter of dumps was subjudice and the material belonged to the state.
On Wednesday, the CM also announced that Goa would hold another auction of iron ore in the next 15 days and has fixed the base price of this material at Rs 300 for less than 50 Fe, Rs 350 for ore above Fe 50 and Rs 450 for ore of Fe 60 and above.
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