A Rs1,200-crore mining scam surfaces as NGO moves HC against illegal mining in Goa
27 Aug 2011
The Goa bench of Bombay High Court on Friday issued notices to 48 mining companies in the state for excessive mining and causing environmental degradation.
A bench comprising Justices DG Karnik and FM Reis issued the notice on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Goa Foundation, an environmental NGO, which said the illegal extraction has violated state environmental laws.
The NGO in its complaint said the government has no mechanism to check illegal mining activity and it goes on unchecked.
"The mining companies make self declarations of the amount of iron ore extracted and the mining department has no mechanism to verify the ore actually extracted," the petitioner said.
Hearing on the PIL will start on 19 September.
Coming close on the heels of the Karnataka mining scam, holders of mining leases in the state are reported to have illegally mined iron ore worth around Rs1,200 crore.