The Office Memorandum (OM) has ceased the transportations of iron ore through the village roads in Goa. This halt in the ore transportation has severely affected the state’s exports due to which Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has said that he will encourage the union government to grant an exemption or removal of (OM) to Goa. This will enable the transportation of iron ore through the village roads to the jetties in the state, that will have a positive impact on the states exports.
The OM prevents the movement of minerals through village roads and states that a bypass road must be constructed for this purpose. This clause was included to protect the villagers from the harmful effects of sound, dust, and accidents that are involved in the transportation of minerals. The OM also states that no movement on village roads should be allowed without improving the carrying ability of these roads.
The Chief Minister will meet the Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav to discuss a plausible solution to this matter. Dr Sawant believes that the iron ore mineral blocks are located near the villages and it is impossible to transport the ore without utilising the village roads. Dr Sawant also mentioned that despite the successful efforts to improve the auctioning of minerals and e-auctioning of iron ore the problem of transportation to the jetties continues to persists. Dr Sawant said “Two ships, meant to carry ore, had to be sent back. The problem is causing losses to the state as well as mining companies,”.
Dr Sawant also said that due to the guidelines of the OM, even if mining companies wish to use their minerals domestically they are unable to do so due to the transportation difficulties.
A stop was put to mining activities in September 2012, the iron ore extracted before that was auctioned off by the state government over time. Only one mining company has been allowed to resume all of its operations since then, despite this it still faces transportation issues due to the denied access to the village road a is a maasive inconvenience to the company.
