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Friday, May 24th 01:32 PM IST
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Digambar Kamat GALLERY.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar may file an FIR against his predecessor Digambar Kamat of the Congress in the mining scam but the latter is sure to come out clean, courtesy some help from the Union Ministry of Mines. The ministry has rejected a major recommendation of the Justice Shah Commission's report on Goa mining. According to the existing law, miners get 'deemed extension' if the state government fails to clear the application for renewal of mining lease in time. Thus almost all the iron ore mines in Goa were breathing on the 'deemed extension' law. The Shah Commission report said there should be a time limit to 'eternal' mining even when the state government does not give approval for renewal of the lease. Why any miner needs to seek renewal, if the extension is deemed? The period of such deemed extension should be limited to a period of only one year'' from the expiry date of lease, Justice Shah observes and recommends. The Ministry of Mine, in its Action Taken Report (ATR), says: Not agreed.'' ...such a move would encourage corruption enabling the use of threat of delay to gain undue pecuniary advantages. For a miner the cost of shutting down a mining operation and restarting it would be a major disincentive and will push him to corruption,'' the ministry's ATR says. [caption id=attachment_453563 align=alignleft width=380 Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar