The State Government is in process of moving an application before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India with an objective to have its review petition in the mining cases tagged with the one filed by companies seeking an extension of their mining leases till the year 2037.
The State Government has filed the said review petition in the previous year against the order of the court in February 2018 which quashed the second renewal of the 88 mining leases thereby bringing mining activities in the State to a standstill. In view of the same, the Apex Court, last month, adjourned the hearing in the crucial Goa mining case which impacts mining resumption to August 18th 2020.
Commenting on the said development, Advocate General for the State of Goa, Devidas Pangam said, “We want the SC to take up both matters together so that we can argue the matters on the common point pertaining to arguments on the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2015.”
Pangam further said that as per the 2015 amendment, mining companies have stated that the lease period must be for 50 years and that this point has not been considered by the Goa Foundation. Moreover, he added that post the SC judgment in the Goa Foundation case, there is another judgment in a common case that interprets the Goa Foundation case which has not been considered and this happens to be the view of both the mining companies and the State as well.
After the High Court dismissed the pleas of the mining companies challenging the Goa, Daman and Diu (Abolition and Declaration of Mining Leases) Act, 1987, the companies had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) stating that the Mining Act must be made applicable from 1987 instead of 1961.
The State Government, in its argument before the SC stated that the mining companies had made a representation to the Mines Department contending that they are entitled to extend their mining leases up to the year 2037, as per the amendment to Section 8-A of the MMDR Act; however, it would abide by the Apex Court’s decision. The State Government further said that the mining concessions that were granted by the Portuguese regime were converted into mining leases under the MMDR Act from the year 1987 and as a consequence, 50 years mining leases as contemplated under Section 8-A of the Act would be extended up to the year 2037.
Government agrees to recover Rs 3431 crore dues from errant mining companies
The State government has agreed to the demands of a petition filed by NGO Goa Foundation seeking directions to recover Rs 3,431 crore from mining companies on several occasions within a time frame.
After Devidas Pangam, Goa’s Advocate General told the High Court of Bombay at Goa that the amount was recoverable, the High Court bench recorded the undertaking of the State government that orders would be passed on all demand notices issued to the mining companies within a period of four months.
The Court recorded that the Director of Mines would first deal with the demand notices issued (for Rs 1,508 crore) to mining companies pursuant to the report of the team of chartered accountants appointed by the former chief minister, Manohar Parrikar. Thereafter, the Department would enforce the notices raised pursuant to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in his 2016 reports (Rs 1,922 crore). The total of both reports amounts to Rs 3431.31 crore.
The demand notices on the report of the team of chartered accountants were issued in 2016. Those pursuant to the CAG report were issued in 2017. These notices were produced by the Goa government to prove its bona fides during the hearing of the writ petition filed by Goa Foundation challenging the grant of 88 mining leases.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment setting aside the 88 mining lease orders, has also directed the Goa government to recover the amounts for which the notices have been issued.
Till date, the State government has recovered only Rs 4 crore from the errant mining companies, even as the notices were first issued by the Mines and Geology Department in 2017.
Goa Foundation has filed a petition before the High Court bench for recovery of dues, claiming the government was dragging its feet in the recovery processes.
The writ petition pleaded, “After conducting enquiries and also relying upon enquiries done by the Auditor General, Goa, demand notices for Rs 3431.31 crores were issued to various parties for recovery.” Two other petitions filed by the NGO for recovery from mining companies are pending hearing before the High Court. The first involves the recovery of around Rs 1000 crore from mining companies that mined without being in possession of a valid mining lease. A second PIL demands recovery of Rs 65,058 crore due from the entire mining industry for conducting mining operations without being in possession of a mining lease for five years (2007-2012). The committee of chartered accountants was established following the revelation of Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam recorded by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission in 2012.
