HC issues notices to 48 iron-ore mines in Goa

A goods train with iron ore waiting at Madgoan station in Goa. A file photo: Paul Noronha.

The Goa bench of Bombay High Court has issued notices to holders of 48 mining leases in the state for exceeding the permissible limit of extraction.

Goa Foundation, an environmental NGO, has filed a Public Interest Litigation before the High Court on the issue, calling such extraction as a violation of state environmental laws.

The respondents to the PIL include some of the state’s biggest mining companies, including V S Dempo, Timblo Irmaos, V M Salgaoncar and Chowgule & Co. Besides, Court has also issued notices to Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, (MoEF).

Next hearing would be on September 19.

The state has 100-odd mining leases, which export 54 million metric tones of ore annually.

The High Court issued notices yesterday. On the same day, State Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said ore worth Rs 1,200 crore had been extracted in Goa in last few years.

PAC, headed by Manohar Parrikar, said 32 mining leases had already exported around 60 lakh tons of iron ore in the absence of licences.