Centre suspends environment clearances of 93 mining leases in Goa
12 Sep 2012
The centre today suspended environment clearances of 93 mining leases in Goa and has ordered verification of documents in the wake of the Shah Commission report that found that the leases were granted on the basis of wrong reports.
The mine owners will now have to submit afresh documents required for getting environment clearances, minister of environment and forests Jayanti Natarajan said.
The Justice M B Shah Commission report on Goa's illegal mining had noted that the environment clearances were given based on the concocted facts.
Natarajan blamed the then state government for submitting facts, which in turn were not properly verified by the MoEF officials.
She assured a thorough probe into the whole aspect of the environment clearances and action against any official if found guilty.
"We will see that he is punished according to the law."
The Goa government, meanwhile, suspended all mining operations in the state after the Shah Commission submitted its report on Goa's illegal mining in Parliament on 7 September.