Goa CM Pramod Sawant left for Delhi on Sunday to meet the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi to discuss the issues related to the resumption of mining in Goa. He will be meeting them on Monday confirmed the report.
The main agenda according to the reports is to find the solution for mining resumption in Goa but there are possibilities of discussion on the other issues creating waves in Goa and one of them is perhaps the double-tracking and coal handling in Goa.
According to the reports, Mr. Sawant is also likely to meet the finance minister, tourism minister, water resource minister among others.
He along with the core committee members are likely to meet BJP national president and apprise him about the development in the state. Recently Sawant had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over mining resumption, who gave him a positive response.
After the assurance of Modi, two meetings were supposed to be held for the resumption of mining in early November. However, the meeting was postponed after the mines minister tested positive for Covid-19. The state had earlier urged the central government to amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, to restart mining activities.
There has been no mining activity in Goa since March 15, 2018, after the Supreme Court quashed the second renewal of 88 mining leases. The state government had filed a review petition on February 7, 2018, in the apex court against the same order.
When Sawant met Modi in March, he had requested the PM to direct the authorities to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court in support of the resumption of mining activities in the state. Two mining companies had approached the apex court for an extension of leases till 2037.
Sawant may broach the issue of the three linear projects passing through the wildlife sanctuary in Mollem, with ministers concerned. Last week, Nuvem MLA Wilfred de Sa had said that when he along with several BJP MLAs had called on the chief minister over the three linear projects, especially transportation of coal, Sawant had said that he would raise the issues with central leaders when he visits Delhi next.
Source: TOI
