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Shah Commission nails Cong, Digambar Kamat
The much-awaited Shah Commission report on the Goa mining scam has pegged losses to the State at nearly Rs35,000 crore. Both State and Union Government officials have been responsible for facilitating the scam.
The voluminous report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday also indicts former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat who was the Mines Minister for 12 consecutive years. “By taking average export cost at $60 per metric tonnes of iron ore from 2006 to 2011 with conversion rate of Rs47 per US$, the total loss to the State comes out to be Rs3,49,35,92,88,000,” Shah has said.
According to Justice Shah, the Government agencies - both Central and State - colluded with mining officials to plunder the natural resource allowing “unrestricted, unchecked and unregulated export of iron ore to China which was ever willing to buy”, making the exporters of ore “richer and richer”.
The report calls for punishing the mining firms through exemplary fines for causing financial and environmental losses. Agencies named in the report include the Indian Bureau of Mines, Union Ministry for Environment and Forest, State directorate of mines, State forest department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
“Large scale mining and overexploitation of minerals would result in change to the natural ecosystem of the area. This will affect the tourism industry of the State. The impact of mining including illegal mining has already been felt. IBM and MoEF have increased production without a proper justification purely on commercial grounds ignoring the impact of mining on protected areas, environment and the eco-system,” the report states.
The report also recommends that the mining export from Goa be regulated to 25 million tonnes, much less than what is recommended by Parrikar in his ‘draft mining policy report’. Mining in Goa is spread over 500 hectares of area, several hundred acres of which is forest as well as Government-owned land.
“All mining activities including transportation for all mining leases should be stopped with immediate effect where there is no approval or clearance of the Standing Committee of NBWL and within 10 km of eco-sensitive buffer zones,” Shah has recommended.
The much-awaited Shah Commission report on the Goa mining scam has pegged losses to the State at nearly Rs35,000 crore. Both State and Union Government officials have been responsible for facilitating the scam.
The voluminous report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday also indicts former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat who was the Mines Minister for 12 consecutive years. “By taking average export cost at $60 per metric tonnes of iron ore from 2006 to 2011 with conversion rate of Rs47 per US$, the total loss to the State comes out to be Rs3,49,35,92,88,000,” Shah has said.
According to Justice Shah, the Government agencies - both Central and State - colluded with mining officials to plunder the natural resource allowing “unrestricted, unchecked and unregulated export of iron ore to China which was ever willing to buy”, making the exporters of ore “richer and richer”.
The report calls for punishing the mining firms through exemplary fines for causing financial and environmental losses. Agencies named in the report include the Indian Bureau of Mines, Union Ministry for Environment and Forest, State directorate of mines, State forest department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
“Large scale mining and overexploitation of minerals would result in change to the natural ecosystem of the area. This will affect the tourism industry of the State. The impact of mining including illegal mining has already been felt. IBM and MoEF have increased production without a proper justification purely on commercial grounds ignoring the impact of mining on protected areas, environment and the eco-system,” the report states.
The report also recommends that the mining export from Goa be regulated to 25 million tonnes, much less than what is recommended by Parrikar in his ‘draft mining policy report’. Mining in Goa is spread over 500 hectares of area, several hundred acres of which is forest as well as Government-owned land.
“All mining activities including transportation for all mining leases should be stopped with immediate effect where there is no approval or clearance of the Standing Committee of NBWL and within 10 km of eco-sensitive buffer zones,” Shah has recommended.
