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Congress wants auction of 96 mining leases in Goa

Congress wants auction of 96 mining leases in Goa
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Instead of just renewing 96 iron ore mining leases in Goa, the state government must auction them on the lines of the telecom spectrum auction so that it stands to benefit financially, state Congress spokesperson Sudip Tamankar said to reporters.

He said the state government could mop up Rs 300 lakh crore over 20 years of the lease period and this could offset the loss of revenue to the state government because of ban on mining in the state.

Of the 336 mining leases spread across the hinterland in the state, almost 100 were operational until the ban came into effect in October 2012. All the operational mining leases are renewable after a period of 20 years.

The state government must follow the ruling of the Supreme Court in the 2G telecom scam case, where it said that all national resources should be auctioned to the highest bidder. The right to extract it should be auctioned, he added.

He further said that auctioning of the mining leases would not only ensure that Goa has a hefty sum in its coffers, but also break the monopoly of four or five mining companies which have been controlling open cast iron ore mining in Goa for decades now.

For the last over four months, mining has been banned in the state after the Supreme Court, hearing a petition filed by activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, announced a probe by a central empowered committee into Goa’s Karnataka-like illegal mining scandal.

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