Barely one-and-a-half months after the passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, mineral-rich Goa has urged the Centre to amend it again, incorporating a provision that would allow dumping of rejects and sub-grade ores outside the leasehold areas.

The state had pressed for inclusion of the provision even while the present Act was still in the Bill stage. As the Centre did not include it in the Act, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has now written to the Union steel and mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar urging for an amendment to the Act to include the provision.

“The state of Goa was confident that this vital amendment would be incorporated in the MMDR Amendmend Act, 2015 to provide for dumping outside leasehold area in the interest of efficient mining operations, especially mineral development, and also in recognition of local factors like small size of leases/established practices,” Parsekar wrote.

“The amended MMDR Act, 2015 does not include the legislative provision requested by the state government, which required for resumption of full-fledged mining operations in Goa, keeping in view the peculiar situation of mining leases in the state of Goa as well as implications of the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India …,” he said.

Mining leases in Goa are small, ranging between 50-100 hectares compared to the average lease size of 250 hectares in Odisha and Jharkhand. As the lease areas are small, miners in Goa used to dump the iron ore as well as waste ore outside the leasehold area prior to mining ban imposed by Supreme Court in October, 2012. While lifting the ban in April, 2014, the apex court, also prohibited dumping of minerals outside the leasehold area. Goa used to dump such rejects outside the lease area earlier.

“I request for your personal and urgent consideration with regard to removing this deadlock in resumption of full-fledged mining operations by giving effect to the required amendment to the Act. If need be, the legal position may be confirmed by seeking advice of the Attorney General of India,” Parsekar suggested.

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