'No mining encroachment, hence no question of paying recovery'

President of Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association Shivanand Salgaoncar said that the information that various mine owners had indulged in encroachment outside their leases, as mentioned in the Commission report, was "factually incorrect".

Salgaoncar said today that some of the encroachments pointed out by the Commission were privately-owned leases and that "there was no question like Karnataka, where people had forcibly encroached into other leases."

According to him, the Commission has shown encroachment in a big number.

"Those encroachments are basically areas used as dumps (low grade ore stocked) or jetties," he said, adding that they all were part of the mining plan.

Salgaoncar claimed that these areas were either owned by or leased to the mining companies.

"When there is no encroachment, there is no question of recovery of money from encroachers," said Salgaoncar, whose own company has been shown as the largest encroacher in the Shah commission report.

The commission has claimed that the iron ore mined from the encroachments is worth Rs 35,000 crore, which, it said should be recovered from the mine owners.