Goa mining delegation: Congress to be part of all party move

The Congress today said that it would be part of the all party delegation that would meet Union ministers in Delhi tomorrow to seek solutions to the issues plaguing the state's mining sector.
The assurance comes after some senior leaders, including legislator Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, had claimed yesterday that the party was not taken into confidence before some leaders committed to being part of the delegation.
The Congress, after a meeting today, authorised the Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar and legislator Nilkant Halarnkar to be part of the delegation to Delhi.
"The Congress Legislative Party is of the firm view that the party should do everything possible to protect the livelihood of nearly two lakh people who are dependent on the mining business, directly or indirectly," Kavlekar told reporters after the meeting.

"We have assured support to the people dependent on the mining industry and also to the government to ensure that mining activities continue even after March 15," he said.
In a recent order the Supreme Court had quashed 88 mining leases in the state and had also banned the extraction of iron ore from March 15.
A meeting attended by representatives of all parties, chaired by Transport Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, on March 1 had decided to send an all party delegation to Delhi to meet Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar.