Panaji:
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Goa has accused Chief Minister Digambar Kamat of being a "silent spectator" to illegal mining in the state. In his report, the committee chief and opposition leader Manohar Parrikar has indicted the mining department which Mr Kamat has handled for the last 12 years.
Mr Kamat, refused to comment on the report, but defended himself saying his government is "cracking the whip and taking action."
"No ship," he said, "can sail through Panjim port without verification and payment of royalty." The Chief Minister also said that not a single new mining lease had been granted in the last one year. "We refused lease to all 95 new mines," he said.
Mr Parrikar, who belongs to the BJP, gave his report to the Goa Assembly Speaker Pratap Singh Rane's office today in an effort to get it tabled in the House. But sources said the Speaker would study the report at length and was unlikely to arrive at a decision in a hurry. Tomorrow is a holiday and Friday is the last day of the present Assembly session. There is thus little chance of Mr Parrikar's report being tabled in the House in this session.
Mr Rane will also look into the refusal of four members of the PAC to sign Mr Parrikar's report. Three of these are Congress MLAs and one is an Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) member. The four say they have not been given enough time sought more time to study the report and say it cannot be tabled till approved by all members.
Mr Parrikar sees this as delay tactics. The chaos that marked the last meeting of the PAC as Congress legislators openly voiced their dissent, left the BJP leader unfazed. He said the last-minute opposition has only confirmed that the ruling coalition has something to hide.
"Mr Kamat sent them to disrupt the meeting. So they are probably scared. The Congress-led government is afraid of being exposed. The PAC has already met 28 times."
According to sources, Mr Parrikar has said in his report that in the last five years, iron ore worth about Rs. 3,500 crore had been exported without paying any royalty to the state government. He has also claimed that half of Goa's mines are operating illegally.
The report also indicts other ministers like Goa's Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao, Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik's son Roy Naik and Goa Congress president Subhash Shirodkar.