The Future We Need
Stakes were high; iron ore was in demand; prices soared; mining and corruption became inseparable bedfellows and the mighty roar of trucks overtook the window pane oyster as the ubiquitous symbol of Goan life. Damning reports by the Shah commission, followed by the 2014 Supreme Court judgment exposed a dark web of corruption involving politicians, officials, administrators and mining regulators.
Village cooperatives around the world seem to be getting to the idea of a basic income. Mendha-Lekha in India is a famous example of a village cooperative with their own Permanent Fund. Similarly, Alaska has a series of Native Regional and Village Cooperatives, many of which pay out an annual dividend, in addition to the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. In China …
In 2012, mining leases in Goa had expired and mining activities halted. The Supreme Court had declared all mining, from 22-Nov-2007 illegal. Goa had a clean slate! A fresh start could be made in all aspects of mining and mining controls. Now the question is where to begin?
There is a growing movement away from a tax financed basic income towards a capital / economic share based basic income. The obvious reason is framing. Income flowing from capital or a share of the economy is based on ownership, not human rights. Yanis Varoufakis has an interesting structure for consideration. Brishen Rogers writes about how Basic Income is only a part of …
Against claims made by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar that 40 to 45 iron ore mining leases may commence operations this season, mining companies appear to be hesitant to resume operations owing to various factors like ore production cap, taxation, slag market value, reduction of the seven-month season to four months making the business unfeasible. The mining industry must also …
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 …
View Below | Download Video: Short 4min, Long 23min
Since our inception in 2014, the Goenchi Mati Movement has been fighting for ownership and safeguarding of Goa’s mineral assets for the Goan public. We are proud to launch our first video explaining what our movement is about.
Under the Constitution, the minerals of Goa belong to the people and the state government is merely a trustee of the minerals for the people and especially future generations. After the landmark Supreme Court judgement in the Goa mining case, all mining during 2007-2012 was declared illegal and during this period the people of Goa lost more than Rs. 65,000 crores from minerals.
In end 2014 – early 2015, the Goa government renewed 88 mining leases from which the people of Goa stand to lose an additional estimated Rs. 79,000 crores from minerals due to the balance period of the renewed leases.
Adding these amounts, we come to a staggering figure of Rs. 1,44,000 crores (OreChor144). This is the loss to the Goan public and Goan communities (nearly Rs.10 lakhs a person) from the renewal of the leases. More importantly, our children and future generations have lost Rs. 1,44,000 crores forever. What explanation can we give?
The Goenchi Mati Movement is fighting to stop this loot and recoup this massive loss for our future generations. We urge whichever Government is elected in 2017 to immediately cancel the leases and reframe a fair and just mining policy for the people of Goa. We request the Public to join our campaign, fight for what is rightfully theirs and urge them to vote for those politicians that will change the system.
Mining in Goa: The effects on our land, our waterways, our health and our economic futures Aside from our mineral assets being taken without our consent and redistributed to the wealthy few, what else went wrong with mining in Goa?
The iron ore mining industry suffered a turn of events when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dealt notices to 24 mining leases that have been operating without valid Environmental Clearances. According to the petition filed by Goa Foundation, Dr Claude Alvares said they have sought interim relief that the lease holders be asked to stop mining operations and commence fresh process …
We are often asked why we recommend only a Permanent Fund for investment / saving, and only a Citizen’s Dividend for distribution of income. Why not hand the money to the government, there are so many urgent needs? In an earlier post, we discussed why we insist that every paisa received from mining and minerals be deposited into the Permanent Fund.