Govt assures a new CZMP with people’s views
Plan to be drafted by Environment Department in consultation with CZMA, GSPCB, scientists PORVORIM: In a major victory to the people, the State government on Tuesday announced it woud draft a fresh
Herald (Panjim)
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Mining panels demand resumption of legal mining
BICHOLIM: Demanding the immediate resumption of “legal” mining in the State, representatives of about 15 mining-related associations have threatened a rally at Panjim on December 19 if the mining issue is not resolved by the government. At a large public meeting in Bicholim on Wednesday, the workers and mining-dependent people also formed the Goa Mining Peoples’ Front (GMPF) and have put forth seven common minimum demands to the government.
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CEC inspects mines in South
SANGUEM/PONDA: Continuing with its two-day visit to mining sites in the State, the Supreme Court’s three-member Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Tuesday visited several mines in Dharbandora and Sanguem talukas of South Goa. In the morning, the three-member CEC comprising P V Jaikrishnan, Mahendra Vyas and Siddharth Chowdhary, visited the Sesa Goa mines in Codli and Fomento mines at Kuddegall, both in Darbandora taluka, to ascertain the impact of mining operations in the two talukas and its effect on the environment.
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Sand mining: HC seeks to know action
PANJIM: The Bombay High Court at Goa took suo moto cognizance of illegal sand mining in Goa and asked the government to file an affidavit by November 26, on the action it has taken against the illegalities involved in the business. The bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and F M Reis had taken suo moto cognizance of illegal sand mining in river beds in the state and sent notices to the chief secretary and the department of mines and geology.
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NOCs to mining firms discussed at Mayem meet
BICHOLIM: The issue of no-objection certificates (NOC) granted by the panchayat secretary to mining companies in the village dominated the recent Mayem-Vaiginim gram sabha. At a special gram sabha held recently, residents highlighted the problems faced by truck owners, while others came down heavily on mining companies. During the discussion, residents alleged that the panchayat secretary had given several NOCs to mining companies. The villagers demanded to know on what grounds the NOCs were given and what exactly were those NOCs.
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CEC wants ATR on illegal mining during 2006-11
PANJIM: The Supreme Court appointed Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) during its meeting with Chief Secretary B Vijayan on Monday sought to know the action taken by the state government to check illegal mining activities, prevailing in the State over last five years from 2006 to 2011. Even though the Principal Secretary (Mines) R K Verma presented a detailed action taken report (ATR) adopted by Manohar Parrikar-led government to curb illegal mining, the CEC was interested in knowing the scene before Parrikar took over the reigns of government.
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GMLWU files intervention plea, wants State to take over mining
PANJIM: The Goa Mining Labour Welfare Union (GMLWU), a registered trade union affiliated to All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), on Monday filed an intervention application in Supreme Court seeking for an order for resumption of all legal mining operations in Goa. The union has also appealed to the Apex Court for an order directing the State government to take over and operate all the mining leases in the state. Further the petitioner also pleaded for job security and full wages to all the mine workers employed in various mines in Goa.
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Mining downturn has not dented State treasury:CS
PANJIM: While the ore rich talukas of Goa have begun to bear the brunt of closure of mining industry, Chief Secretary B Vijayan claimed that the downturn had not affected the State exchequer, even as revenue collection was only 30 percent of the estimates. Vijayan refuted fears of a recession even though the State earned only Rs 360 crore of the estimated Rs 900 crore mining revenue in the last seven months.
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Waste treatment plant at Dharbandora gets a push
PANJIM: Construction of the state’s sole hazardous waste treatment plant that would have taken care of total 3.30 lakh metric tones of waste at Dharbandora now seems to be a distant dream, with hardly
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Govt to seek early resumption of mining before Apex Court
PANJIM: Goa government is scheduled to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court wherein it will stress the early resumption of mining in the state. Chief Secretary B Vijayan told Herald that government, being one of the respondents, would be filing an affidavit before the Court during its next hearing of the public interest litigation. “We are party to it. We will be filing our reply. The stand of the government is clear ~that we should be allowed to resume legal mining immediately,” he said.
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CEC team gets a whiff of mining
Affected people plead ‘restart to legal mining’ PANJIM: No stone was left unturned to ensure the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee, which arrived in the state on Sunday, understands the gravity of the plight of the mining affected people. Be it handing over newspaper clippings of the suicide of Uguem sarpanch, whom the mining affected claimed as the first casualty of stopping the industry, narrating their plight before the CEC, the first day of the Committee’s visit to the state was a pitch by the mining affected to ‘restart legal mining’.