Aamchi maati, aamka zai
Director: Marc Francis, Mohan Kumar Mochi
Executive Producers: Priya Sule, Marc Francis, Mohan Kumar Mochi
Featured Interviews: Raju Nayak, Haresh Melwani, Karan Bhagat, Ruturaj Parikh, Vishal Rawlley, Late. Dadubhai Mandrekar, Claude Alvares
Featured Artists: Joylita Silveira, Violet D’Souza, Valentine Sequeira, Sushant Dimaag Buntee, Inacio Vaz, Sameer Gadekar, Ketan Salgaonkar, Tejas Kuncolienkar, Shubham Halankar
Goenchi Mati Manifesto
Mining in Goa is highly divisive. So in drafting our position on mining we have carefully considered all stakeholder needs and considered certain principles to come up with concrete steps that create a win-win situation for all:
- Mining dependent will benefit
- Mining affected will benefit
- Government of Goa will benefit
- People of Goa will benefit
- Future citizens of Goa will benefit
Manifesto
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Mining will be based on these principles :
- We, the people of Goa, own the minerals in common. The state government is merely a trustee of natural resources for the people and especially future generations (Public Trust Doctrine).
- As we have inherited the minerals, we are simply custodians and must pass them on to future generations (Intergenerational Equity).
- Therefore, if we mine and we sell our mineral resources, we must ensure zero loss, ie. capture of the full economic rent (sale price minus cost of extraction, cost including reasonable profit for miner). Any loss is a loss to all of us and our future generations.
- All the money received from our minerals must be saved in the Goenchi Mati Permanent Fund, as already implemented all over the globe. Like the minerals, the Permanent Fund will also be part of the commons. The Supreme Court has ordered the creation of a Permanent Fund for Goan iron ore and already Rs. 94 crores is deposited.
- Any real income (after inflation) from the Goenchi Mati Permanent Fund must only be distributed to all as a right of ownership, a Citizen’s Dividend. This is like the comunidade zonn, but paid to everyone.
- The implementation of these principles will be done in a transparent participatory process with the people of Goa.
BACKGROUND:
Under the constitution, the minerals of Goa belong to the state of Goa (Art 295). However, under the Public Trust Doctrine (Art 21 Right to Life), the state government is merely a trustee of natural resources for the people and especially future generations. In other words, the people of Goa own the minerals in common. Further, under the Intergenerational Equity Principle (Art 21 Right to Life), as we have inherited the minerals, we are simply custodians and must pass them on to future generations. Mining leaseholders do not own the minerals under the ground. Only if they have a valid mining lease, have actually extracted the ore and have paid for the ore do they gain ownership over the ore.
Mining was one of the larger sectors of the Goan economy, although it has never exceeded 7.5% of GSDP. It has provided employment & to a lesser extent, has provided funds to the state government.
However, mining is also Goa’s largest environmental and social problem. It has destroyed our fields, khazans and rivers, our source of fish curry & rice.
It has damaged the lungs of lakhs living in the mining belt & been responsible for numerous deaths as well.
Mining is the single largest source of corruption in Goa, and it is the root cause of the poor governance in Goa. The Supreme Court itself ruled that the last five years of mining before the ban was fully illegal! 100% illegal. read more…
For mining, going forward, we will first ensure that sufficient minerals are available for future generations to exploit. Next, we will ensure that all environmental & legal requirements are met. Third, we will dispose of the dumps before we embark on fresh mining. This will generate money for the Permanent Fund and will also deal with two environmental problems – the dumps, and abandoned pits. Fourth, for fresh mining, we propose concentrated mining – just one or two leases to minimize the overall damage and enhance our control. Fifth, District Mineral Foundations will develop their plans through a participatory budgeting process with the mining affected.
It is clear that with the caps, the use of larger trucks being proposed by the mining companies and other improvements in mechanization, employment will never achieve its earlier levels.
Therefore, we also have an interim plan to create more employment and simultaneously re-skill them for new opportunities. And certainly, relief is needed, both for the mining dependent and the mining affected.