Reform mining sector

It will be probably be three to six months before iron ore mining operations in Goa start after the Supreme Court on Monday lifted the 18-month ban on mining operations and imposed a cap on the quantity that can be mined. The Goa government has still to lift its ban on mining and, as the Goa chief minister said, the whole mining machinery, which had been immobilised, will have to be restarted. The environment ministry has also to clear scores of pending applications.

The Goa government and other stakeholders concerned can use this time to bring in reforms in the mining sector to see that a few rapacious mine owners do not destroy the environment and hurt villagers and farmlands. In Goa, the third largest state in iron ore mining, illegal and reckless mining by a few played havoc on the lives of villagers and the environment in the surrounding areas. It also deprived the government of revenue. Thousands of uncovered trucks carrying ore through narrow roads spread deadly pollution all around.

The Supreme Court, while allowing resumption of mining, has ensured that a court-appointed panel would hear the various parties on environmental destruction and illegal mining and submit an environment impact report in six months. Maybe the Supreme Court should have done this much earlier as its suspension of iron ore mining in October 2012 did not differentiate between good and bad mine owners. This, in turn, destroyed the livelihood of thousands of villagers and truckers, not to mention the negative impact on India’s exports.