PANAJI: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar held a meeting with officials and stakeholders on Thursday, the second meeting this week, with an intent to immediately start mining activities in the state.It was decided to approach the Supreme Court seeking approval for lifting of royalty-paid iron ore which was extracted before March 15 and dumped outside the lease area.Sources said during the meeting it was also decided that the government should direct mines department to immediately start e-auctioning for the 4.5 million tonnes of iron ore lying at plots and jetties.These suggestions came from the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association (GMOEA), the main trade body of the ore exporters, at Thursday’s meeting which Parrikar agreed to pursue, sources said. The chief minister also consulted additional solicitor general of India A N S Nadkarni on the legal route for resumption of mining.GMOEA requested the state government to put up a strong case before the Supreme Court on November 13, when the matter pertaining to the mining leases will come up for hearing.Various other options and ways and means to restart mining were also discussed at the meeting. The meetings are to send a signal to the mining dependents that the government wants to get mining restarted at the earliest, a source said.A political observer said the government will have to ensure that the mining activities get started in the next couple of months if BJP wants to retain both the Lok Sabha seats.It was also decided to request the Centre again to expedite the matter of getting the amendment to the MMDR Act.Mining companies and the government are of the same opinion that the Centre should come out with an amendment to MMDR (Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation) Act so that it is clear that the mining leases are operational for 50 years from 1987.“Ordinance is not the issue now. What we have requested the central government is amendment to the MMDR Act so that the tenure of the leases could be extended. We are hopeful that the legislation would be brought before Parliament in the winter session,” South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar, who also met the chief minister, told TOI.Nadkarni suggested that the government should go for e-auctioning of all the mining leases in the state.“CM wants mining activities to resume next month and hence, he is holding consultation. We also discussed various options available,” Nadkarni told TOI.The Supreme Court on February 7 had quashed the second renewal of 88 mining leases and had asked the state government to stop all activities in the state by March 15 this year.The Union government had in 1987 made a law by which it converted Goa mining concessions into mining leases. The erstwhile Portuguese government had granted concessions in the state to carry out mining operations.

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