Goa seeks expedition of process to resume mining in state

Goa today asked the Centre to initiate steps to resume the process of mining in the mineral-rich state, which has been put on hold for over two years now.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar met Union Minister for Steel and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar, along with his predecessor and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and took up the issue with them.
Parsekar held discussions "towards initiation of steps to start mining in Goa, which has been on hold for the past two and half years," a Goa government official said.
The coastal state, which export iron ore, used to earn some 25 per cent of its revenue from mining.

In March this year, the Centre decided to revoke its earlier order suspending all environmental clearances (ECs) of mines in the coastal state. In September 2012, the then Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan had suspended ECs of mines in Goa for alleged violation of rules.