Goa Mines Dept suggests auctioning of illegally stored ore

The Goa Mines and Geology Department has suggested confiscation and auction all the iron ore that is illegally stacked on various private lands across the state.

The department officials, who are in the process of formulating a new mining policy for Goa, have recommended that a checklist of all such plots working illegally across the state be prepared.

"Those, who are operating without registration with the department should face severe action. It is recommended that new mining policy will give the government powers to confiscate the ore lying in those plots and auction it," a senior official stated.

The new Goa Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining and Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2012, are being framed, the draft of which would be ready by mid-July, officials claimed.

They further said during the recent investigation of the illegal transportation of ore it was revealed that there are several land plots existing in the state which stack the ore illegally, without permission from the authorities.

The plots, he said, need to be registered with the mining department and also need to have no objection certificate (NOC) from the Goa State Pollution Control Board, a state-government agency.

The department also proposes that the plots of less than 5,000 square meters should not be allowed to be registered with the department. "This will curb all the fly-by-night operators who create smaller plots without adhering to the rules," the officials said. Goa exported 43 million tonnes of iron ore in the last financial year, which was extracted from its 90-odd mines located in iron ore rich talukas of the state.