Goa is the latest state to explode with civil society protests against illegal mining. Ketaki Ghoghe and Snehal Rebello report.
Fresh revelations show that 32 of the 54 working iron ore mines in forest areas do not have the mandatory clearances under conservation laws. Ketaki Ghoge and Snehal Rebello report.
Forest norms violated | The environmental price
A day after the Congress's Goa unit sought to draw a distinction between "irregular" and "illegal" mining, former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde today stressed there was no difference, as both entailed cheating.
Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat today steered himself clear of the controversies surrounding illegal mining activities in the state claiming that he himself was a crusader against this increasing phenomenon. He is also the mines minister.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde today said he was not willing to be Goa Lokayukta, even if that office was offered to him.
Former Karnataka lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde has sought the Goa government to investigate into those responsible for allowing ore from the neigbouring state to be illegally exported through its ports.
With BJP demanding dismissal of Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat in the illegal mining case, Congress on Tuesday said it would decide on the course of action on the issue only after the Public Accounts Committee report is tabled in the Assembly.
On a day the BJP demanded the resignation of Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat over the mining scam and Sonia Gandhi’s emissary Jagmeet Brar arrived in the state to prepare his report on the matter, the Goa government, faced with mounting criticism, started enforcing a ban on extraction of low-grade iron ore from old dumps.
The BJP today admitted its own chief minister in Goa, Manohar Parrikar was "negligent" in stopping the illegal export of iron ore during his tenure.
While Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat, who has held the mines portfolio for 12 years, is facing mounting criticism after a series of reports by HT on how illegal mining has cost the state Rs. 3,000 crore, his colleagues, it has emerged, are directly involved with mining activities.
Another Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in the Goa assembly has resigned from the party to join the Congress.
The Goa government, facing mounting criticism over the mining scam, is likely to revoke clearances given to 19 iron ore mines operating within the 10-km protected zones around wildlife sanctuaries.
The Goa government has initiated the process to revoke licences of 19 mining leases which have been found to be operating within ten-kilometre radius of wildlife sanctuaries or national parks in the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa today began a desperate exercise to keep its flock together after two of its legislators left the party to join Congress over the last few weeks.
A federal government-appointed panel probing allegations of illegal mining in Goa, India's biggest iron ore exporting state, will submit its report within 45 days, its chief told a television channel today.