The stakeholders of the troubled mining industry in Goa on Saturday held protests here against the Supreme Court-appointed CEC’s report, which has ruled against the resumption of suspended mining activities in Goa till the illegalities were fixed.
The protesters marched to the historic Church Square on Saturday and burnt the copies of Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report that was submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday.
Christopher Fonseca, leader of the union, said that the CEC had not taken into account the suffering of the people who are dependent on mining while drafting the report. He termed the CEC report as ‘anti Goa economy’.
According to the union there are over two lakh people dependent on mining, who it said are currently on the brink of a financial crisis.
The CEC in its report submitted on Friday had suggested that mining should not be allowed in Goa till the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report is prepared by the concerned agencies.
Goa is the country’s largest iron ore exporting state. Total 43 million metric tonnes of ore was shipped from the state’s two ports during last financial year.
The mining industry was marred with the controversies after Justice M.B. Shah commission pointed out glaring illegalities in this sector.
