The Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF) states that Goa has so far faced a loss of around Rs 7,000 crore in the last two years due to the mining stoppage. They further stated that if mining activities are not resumed immediately, the loss to the State can go as high as Rs 10,500 crore.
The GMPF has made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting his intervention for immediate resumption of mining.
The Front feels that Goa might lose its third consecutive mining year to the ban imposed after the decision of the Supreme Court.
GMPF President, Puti Gaonkar, says “According to various estimates, Goa has so far faced a loss of around Rs 7,000 crore in the last two years due to the mining stoppage. If mining activities are not resumed immediately, the loss to the State can go as high as Rs 10,500 crore.”
All mining activities in the State stopped on March 15, 2018, following the Supreme Court’s decision to disallow the renewal of 88 mining leases. This affected around 3 lakh-odd lives across the State. Gaonkar pointed out to the PM’s election campaign acknowledging severe impacts due to stoppage of mining while assuring that required intervention for immediate resumption of mining in Goa would be made.
Gaonkar states that decisive steps need to be taken and if an immediate solution was not found, Goans would bear the brunt of an economic slowdown in the midst of a pandemic.
The GMPF has further urged Governor Bharat Singh Koshyari to put forth the issue before the Central government. The forum also acknowledged former Governor Satya Pal Malik for his act of generating a righteous course of action to protect the livelihood of lakhs of Goans during his short tenure in the State.
Gaonkar also pointed out that in the absence of mining activities generating livelihood in the State, Goans are looking at a bleak future driven by financial uncertainties.
“The multitudinous job loss in the State has fostered a mammoth challenge for Goa which was already suffering from an economic downturn. Goa mining dependents are still waiting for ray of hope which could be only possible through the immediate resumption of Goa mining,” he said.
Balaji Gawas, Vice President of GMPF added that immediate resumption of the mining industry is crucial in order to save the State’s economy and revive the livelihood of over 3 lakh people who are directly and indirectly dependent on mining for survival.
“One-fifth of Goa’s population is dependent on mining and this year’s mining season will start just after the monsoon. If the highest judiciary does not take an urgent decision on the resumption of mining in the upcoming hearing on August 26, the third consecutive mining year will go to waste. We are highly troubled by the continuous postponement of allotted hearing dates and repeated issuance of new ones by the courts without any conclusive decisions being reached,” he stated.
