Will thrash out solution to Goa mining ban: Pawar

Panaji: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said he would seek to convene a meeting of concerned ministries in a bid to thrash out a solution to the problems faced by the mining industry in Goa. Pawar made the assurance after meeting the pro-mining agitators, holding a chain sit-in protest under the banner of Goa Mining Affected People’s Front (AMAPF), at Azad Maidan in Panaji for over a fortnight.  Assuring to convene the meeting of concerned ministries - Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Mines - in Delhi in next 8-10 days, Pawar said,“We will project before the concerned ministries, the exact picture of how stoppage of mining has affected the livelihood of people dependent on this industry.” Clarifying that his support is only for resumption of “legal mining, and not the illegal one”, he said the state government or any other agencies could take action against the illegalities in the mining industry. “But (they) should not discourage the operations which are being conducted adhering (to) environmental norms and executed within legal framework,” the minister said. The Supreme Court in its interim order had suspended transportation and extraction of ore in Goa, pending a report from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The mining crisis in Goa, the country’s largest exporter and second-largest producer of iron ore, has affected the livelihood of thousands dependent on the industry. “The stoppage of mining has begun showing its impact on other allied industries. I received a letter from a business tycoon that the sale of trucks from his factory in Pune has dropped drastically”, Pawar said. Pointing out that 25% people are dependent on mining, Pawar said the coastal state’s economy has been entirely based on this industry, besides revenue from tourism, agriculture and fisheries.