As was reported earlier, the US state of Louisiana was to vote on a constitutional amendment to set up a Revenue Stabilization Fund. This vote was on November 8, along with the US Presidential Elections. Voters approved the amendment to set up the fund, 53.6%:46.4%. Welcome to the club of natural resource funds Louisiana. #PermanentFund #NaturalResourceFund
Tag: Constitution
Calling all parties to protect our children’s inheritance
The Goenchi Mati Movement today releases its Manifesto for the Goa Assembly Elections 2017. The movement asks all political parties to include it in their manifestos.
Goa’s Inglorious Past: The Great Mining Swindle
Zero loss mining and intergenerational equity A loss amounting to twice the cumulative state revenues was uncovered following an investigation into mining activities by Goa Foundation. This money represents the value of minerals mined and exported during the period 2004 to 2012 from Goa. The amount represents a Rs. 3.7 Lakhs loss of mineral assets for each and every Goan; …
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 …
Who owns title to minerals in India?
Across the world, the sovereign / federal / union government usually owns title to all minerals. The big exception is the USA where land owners also own the minerals beneath the earth. Even there, the federal government owns 1/3rd of the land. For India though, it is a simple question with a complex answer. Under Article 297 of our Constitution, offshore minerals are …