Mines dept looks at auctioning at least one mining lease this month

Panaji: In an attempt to auction off at least one mining lease this month, the directorate of mines and geology is set to complete the process to invite bids. The aim, the department said, is to restart mining activities at the earliest.
A senior officer said that the government will first auction leases with valid permissions from different authorities, including environmental clearance (EC), as these nods can be carried forward to the new lease owners thus facilitating the restart of mining with immediate effect.
DMG is geared to complete the process for inviting bids for auctioning mining leases, the officer said.
The state government had asked the Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) to prepare a report on the quantity of iron ore lying at 88 mining leases that the state government has decided to auction.
“Along with MECL, officials of the mines department are also preparing a report simultaneously to avoid any delay in auctioning,” a senior officer told TOI.
The officer said that as per the new amendment to the MMDR Act, if a lease with valid permissions from various authorities is auctioned, then these nods can be carried forward to the new lease owner.
“With the earlier permissions, the new lease owner can start mining within 15 days. In addition, the new owner gets two years to obtain fresh permissions,” a senior officer said. During the auctioning process, it will be made clear to bidders that they have to come to an understanding with the person holding the surface right of the lease, the official added.
The officer said that the process to identify such leases has commenced.
On the first day of the monsoon session, chief minister Pramod Sawant said that mining leases have “already been taken back” and “machinery has been moved out”. He had said that SBI has been empaneled as the transaction advisory service.
Mining in Goa came to halt in March 2018 after the Supreme Court quashed the second renewal of 88 leases. Both opposition as well as ruling MLAs have demanded that the government restart mining activities.
The state government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the MECL in July 2021 to identify new iron ore mines in the state. It also formed the Goa Mineral Development Corporation to restart mining activities.