Goa extends mining debt relief scheme again; says it's final

The Goa government today granted the fifth and final extension of six months to the state debt relief scheme, targetting mining dependents, till September 30, 2018.

"The Cabinet accorded a post-facto approval for extending the scheme by six months from April 1, 2018. The extension will be limited only to those proposals that are pending with banks or those which were rejected earlier," stated a Cabinet resolution issued on May 21.

The scheme offers financial assistance to mining truck owners, barge owners and others for repaying bank loans.

Under the scheme, which was launched when mining was first banned in the coastal state by the supreme court in 2012, a subsidy up to 35 per cent is provided on the total loan settlement amount of those borrowers who are affected by closure of the mining industry.

"Since this is the last revision of the scheme, the final authority to grant full benefit either fully or in exceptional cases as an ex-gratia benefit in either case or group of cases shall lie with chief minister whose decision shall be final in case the committee either differs the decision on proposal or decides on such proposal in negative," the resolution said.

The scheme was originally designed by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar after the apex court banned the mining activity in 2012.

The scheme was first lapsed in March 2015. It was later extended for six months up to September 4, 2015 and again till March 31, 2016 during which it was extended twice.

The state government reopened the scheme in December 2017 and extended it again till March 31, 2018 with a view to clear off the applications that were pending with the concerned department but could not be processed due to expiry of the scheme.

The supreme court had first banned iron ore mining in Goa in September 2012 after a judicial commission, headed by judge M B Shah, had exposed a Rs 35,000-crore scam allegedly involving top mining companies, bureaucrats, and politicians.

The ban was lifted in April 2014 with the SC capping annual production from these mines at 20 million tonnes.

Iron ore mining was banned again by the Supreme Court in February this year when it quashed the second renewal of iron ore mining leases given to 88 companies in Goa in 2015.

The ban came into effect in March.

In the wake of the hardships caused to the people dependent on mining in the coastal state due to the ban, the state government earlier this month decided to file a review petition in the SC.