The Future We Need
The Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee on Mineral Development and Regulation (CEC) meets at irregular intervals. The minutes and meeting notes provide fascinating reading. We had recommended the use of LiDAR, drones and mobile weighbridges to keep a tight leash on mining. We also recommend participatory budgeting for District Mineral Foundations (DMFs). It is positive that the Central Government is creating a portal for monitoring …
Goa’s District Mineral Foundation Rules have been notified by the government. Unfortunately, the Goa DMFs do not comply with the mining laws, in particular the PMKKKY (Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana). Already over Rs. 30 crores have been collected. However, a recent legislative assembly question disclosed that no plans have been drawn up to utilize the funds, as required by the notified DMFs …
Mining in Goa came to a screeching halt in 2012 with the Shah Commission Report. One of the key findings was widespread illegalities. “It is pertinent to state here that such illegal act can’t happen without connivance of the politicians, bureaucrats and lessees. There is a complete collapse of the system.” It would seem that the industry hasn’t learnt. A number of illegalities have …
The District Mineral Foundation (“DMF”) was created by the MMDR Act amendment in early 2015. The DMF is for the benefit of mining affected people and areas. Goa has set up the North Goa and South Goa DMFs. Conservative estimates are that Rs. 180 crores would be annually available to Goa’s DMFs. Unfortunately, the rules of Goa’s DMFs do not follow the law, …