Illegal mining: Goa govt to file FIR against two ex-CMs

Bombay High Court asked the Goa govt as per Justice M B Shah commission report

The Goa government plans to file a First Information Report (FIR) against 151 people including two former Goa chief ministers, the son of a former Goa home minister, several state and central government officials, besides 100-odd mining firms in connection with illegal mining.

"The FIR will be filed by the state within six weeks as directed by the court," Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

The FIR is a fall out of directives by the Bombay High Court's bench in Goa, which heard a petition filed by a Goan citizen Kashinath Shetye, who had sought action against all those indicted by the Justice M B Shah Commission of inquiry into illegal mining.

In its order delivered this week, the court directed that an FIR be filed against all the accused, including two former Goa chief ministers – Pratapsingh Rane (current leader of opposition) and Digambar Kamat, who were also mining ministers.

The name of Roy, son of former Goa home minister Ravi Naik, who was also named in the narcotics mafia nexus case, will be accused in the FIR, for his alleged involvement in transporting illegally extracted ore.

The complaint which will be converted to an FIR, names two former directors of the Mines and Geology Department – J B Bhingui and Arvind Lolienkar, Chairman of the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) P Mara Pandiyan, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Forest and others.

Quoting Justice M B Shah Commission Report, the complaint accuses officials of the state transport department, state water resources department, Indian Bureau of Mines, State Conservator of Forests, Goa State Pollution Control Board, police department and others for protecting illegal mining.

"Not only has government natural wealth been robbed without taking permission, but police officials also went further and tried to suppress it by accepting protection money," the complaint which would be converted into FIR said.

The complaint had also demanded recovery of Rs  35,000 crore, which was shown as money plundered by mine owners. The petitioner, who had moved the high court after police refused to file an FIR acting upon his complaint, has pleaded that the accused being persons in power, who are well connected to the power structure, had exerted pressure on investigators and authorities not to register the FIR.

"They had managed to ensure that the matter is not pursued in a manner that will incriminate them and the case is hushed up," he said.