New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear on October 5 a plea against resumption of iron and manganese ore mining in Goa, filed on the basis of a judicial commission's estimate that the exchequer has suffered a loss of Rs 35,000 crore due to illegal mining in the state since 2000.
A forest bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam will hear the petition filed by an NGO, Goa Foundation, which has also sought an independent probe into the alleged loss to the state revenue, the illegalities committed in mining activities and the connivance of public servants in abetting the same.
The petition had been filed in the court in the wake of the Justice (Retd) M B Shah Commission's report, tabled in Parliament on September 7 this year, alleging that "iron ore worth Rs 35,000 crores was plundered by the mining companies, committing theft of Government property."
In its public interest litigation filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, the NGO has cited the report and has stated that "illegal activities in mining were underway since the year 2000."
It added all the 90 mines in the state were functioning without the mandatory permission from the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) and 33 of these mines were within 1.5 kms of the wildlife sanctuaries, well within the eco-sensitive zone notified by the NBWL.
It has said the Directorate of Mines and Geology on September 10 this year had temporarily suspended all mining operations till October 2012, but the suspension did not affect the trade and transportation of ore already mined and existing in the lease hold area, in transit or stores or stocked on the jetties.