Goa won’t give illegal miners new licences

People indicted for illegal mining could henceforth be barred from applying for ore extraction licences, a government report states. The Economic Survey report for this year, tabled Monday in the Goa legislative assembly, also says that it is working on a proposal which disallows fresh applications for mining leases in areas where the colonial Portuguese regime had granted concessions. ‘The proposal shall cover rejection of applications made for mining leases, prospecting licences and reconnaissance permits by persons who were involved in illegal mining,’ the report says. The Supreme Court had banned mining in the state shortly after a central government appointed judicial commission exposed a Rs.35,000 crore illegal mining scam in the state. The court had also ordered a probe by its central empowered committee, which has virtually seconded the findings of the Justice M B Shah commission.