Dear MP Naik, While I appreciate you being forthcoming in admitting to having 507 illegal mines in Goa, I wonder what emotions you harbor at this news. Are you filled with shame and regret that your party who is the government in power in the state has allowed this state of affairs to develop under its very nose. Or are you sufficiently detached from the theft of resources of your fellow Goans to feel that this is just another minor mishap in the "glorious" Congress legacy. If it can be proved that you had the slightest inkling of this and did nothing, you yourself deserve to be in jail.
Roland. Toronto. Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell. -----Original Message----- From: SHANTARAM NAIK <shantaram...@gmail.com> Sender: goanet-bounces@lists.goanet.orgDate: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:50:58 To: <goa...@goanet.org> Reply-To: goa...@goanet.org, "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <goanet@lists.goanet.org> Subject: [Goanet] Goa government has detected 507 illegal mines in Goa GOA GOVERNMENT HAS DETECTED 507 ILLEGAL MINES IN GOA Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Smt. Jayanti Natarajan, informed Mr. Shantaram Naik MP in the Rajya Sabha today in a written reply on the mining issue of Goa that as per information provided by Ministry of Mines, State Government of Goa has detected 494 cases of illegal mining for the period June 2006, till December 2009, and for the year 2010-2011, it has reported 13 cases of illegal mining. The question of Mr. Naik was listed as star question, however, for want of time, only written reply was furnished. She further informed Mr. Naik that Ministry of Environment and Forests has not made any survey regarding illegal mines in operation in Goa. However, the Central Government has appointed Shri Justice M.B. Shah Commission of Inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 to inquire into the large scale mining of iron ore and manganese ore without lawful authority in several States vide Notification S.O.2817 dated 22nd November, 2010. The Commission has started functioning and has undertaken visit of Goa mines as part of its mandate. She further said that Section 23C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 provides for State Government to formulate Rules to control illegal mining. Ministry of Environment and Forests considers proposals for grant of environmental clearance in terms of the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006after the mining lease has been granted by the State Government. While granting environmental clearance, necessary environmental safeguards/conditions are stipulated for their implementation during project cycle, Minister said. Implementation of the stipulated conditions is monitored by the Regional Office of Ministry of Environment and Forests. Cases of non-compliance/partial compliance are followed up with the projects proponent for their effective compliance including initiation of action under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. During the last 3 years and the current year, the Regional Office of Ministry of Environment Forests at Bangalore has monitored 50 mining projects in the State of Goa and the observed non-compliances have been pointed out to the projects proponent for ensuring an effective compliance of the stipulated conditions, Minister further added. Shantaram Naik --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------