'Financial impact of mining industry closure not quantified'

The Goa government has not quantified the financial impact of the closure of the state's mining industry following a ban by the Supreme Court in February this year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Goa Assembly on Wednesday.

"So far, the exact financial impact of mining industry closure on the State's revenue is not quantified, as the same depends upon the rate of mineral at given month as declared by Indian Bureau of Mines, a department under Ministry of Mines, Government of India," Parrikar said in a written reply tabled during the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly.

Parrikar also said, that the state government was making all efforts to ensure early resumption of mining in Goa.

The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa, ever since the apex court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases from March, while also directing the state to re-issue mining leases.

This is the second time in less than a decade that all mining in the state has come to standstill.

The Goa Chief Minister is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month, in a bid to resolve the crisis and restart mining in the coastal state.

--IANS

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