Declining to comment immediately on being named in the Centre’s affidavit in the black money case, Radha Timblo, director of Goan mining company Timblo Private Limited, on Monday said she would file her reply in the Supreme Court after studying the affidavit.
“I have to obtain a copy of the said affidavit; I have to study the affidavit filed by the Centre and then I shall file my reply in the Supreme court,” said Ms. Timblo, talking to a local news channel on Monday.
When The Hindu tried to contact Ms. Timblo for her response at her office, she was unavailable.
Interestingly, a Central Empowerment Committee (CEC) had, in its report to Supreme Court on Goa’s illegal mining in December 2012, pointed out cases of Goan miners colluding with the then State government leading to gross illegalities in iron ore mining.
Ms. Timblo figured in more than one case where the CEC brought out blatant illegalities. In one such case, mining was carried out for decades with the execution of power of attorney from Karachi to a Goan partnership firm for mining of iron ore in serious breach of law, said the CEC.
The panel stated that the mining lease was granted in the name of an individual who had migrated to Pakistan and died there; he was never involved in operating the mining lease or seeking its renewal.
“The lease has been allowed to be operated illegally by a partnership firm comprising Timblo Pvt. Ltd, Ms. Radha S. Timblo and others. The mining lease has been renewed by the Goa government in favour of the partnership firm owned and controlled by the Timblo family, disregarding and in blatant violation of Rule 37 of Mineral Concession Rules, 1960,” said the CEC. The CEC pointed out that the renewal of mining lease was allowed by the Goa government “on the basis of an unregistered power of attorney, stated to have been executed by the lessee while staying in Pakistan and whose genuineness and validity was highly dubious and doubtful”.
The CEC further said that even though all facts in the matter were available with the State government, it chose to ignore them and the lease granted in favour of an individual was illegally allowed to be converted into a partnership firm owned by the Timblo family.
Under the rule of a Digambar Kamat–led Congress government, 40 mining leases were cleared illegally.
