The Great Goan Mining Heist: Implications of the 2014 Supreme Court Judgement Ruling

Over the last ten years mining losses have been variously reported and unsubstantiated estimates touted. In among all of this, one thing is certain: the trend is consistently upwards. Amounts have been quoted from Rs. 3,500 crores due to non-payment of royalty (PAC Report) to Rs. 35,000 crores due to mining outside lease areas (Shah Commission). However the latest official …

The 5 points in the Herald today

Sarah McGinnis writes about our Goenchi Mati Movement in the Sunday Herald Review today. She also explains the five points at the core of our movement: Minerals are owned by the people & the state is only a trustee on behalf of the people and future generations Minerals are inherited assets and we are merely custodians for future generations If we …

Announcing the Goenchi Mati Creatathon

Kokum, a design non-profit, is hosting a Creatathon for the Goenchi Mati campaign. We are thrilled! Its all day on sat&sun, 16&17 July, 2016, at the Design Center, Porvorim. There is also a talk on thursday 7th July, 2016 at 6:30pm the same venue introducing the idea and updating everyone on the current status. Be creative & have some fun if …

The village with its own Permanent Fund

The tribal village of Mendha in the panchayat of Lekha (Mendha Lekha) in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra has been at the forefront of self-governance. Their famous slogan is “Dilli Mumbai Amcha Sarkar, Amache Ganavat Amhich Sarkar” (In Delhi and Mumbai is our Government, In our village we ourselves are the Government). From the 1930s itself, the village has been fighting for its rights …

Minerals – who are the beneficial owners

In an earlier post, we had discussed who owns minerals in India under the Constitution. In broad terms, state governments usually own onshore minerals, all offshore minerals are owned by the union government. There are two additional aspects of minerals to consider, the public trust doctrine and the intergenerational equity principle. The Public Trust Doctrine, an integral part of common law …