Supreme Court Allows Request Of Goa Govt To Resume Mine Dumping Activities

Pursuant to an order passed by a Green Bench led by Justice A.K. Patnaik and various subsequent orders and judgements of the apex court, all mining operations in the state of Goa were on halt since 2012, except during a window between September 2015 and March 2018, when the government had issued orders granting mining leases disregarding the top court's explicit instructions. However, the government has been anxious to resume mining activities in the state and revive the mining sector. The chief minister had said, last year, that an estimated 10 to 20 million metric tonnes of low-grade iron ore was lying at different locations outside the mining leases, and could sustain mining activity in Goa for the next four to five years. The Bench headed by Justice Gavai was told that the shuttering of mining activities in the state had resulted in serious economic hardships, especially for the people for whom it was the main source of income. Additional Solicitor-General, K.M. Nataraj appearing for Goa urged the court to permit dump mining activities subject to the safeguards recommended by the court-appointed, six-member expert committee on intergenerational equity. In its April 2015 report, the expert committee had recommended that dumps that were stablilised, covered with vegetation and located in lease areas, and which did not contribute to the degradation of surrounding ecosystems, might be permitted for dump mining. But, as per the report, such an activity could be undertaken only after the existing ore was exhausted in a particular lease and subject to all clearances including environmental and forest clearances and an approved mining plan.

Similar sentiments as the Additional Solicitor-General were echoed by the counsel appearing on behalf of a miners' association in Goa. The counsel highlighted the great loss that the embargo on mining had caused to the public exchequer. After hearing all the submissions, since the state's application remained unopposed, it was granted with respect to the limited issue of resuming dump mining activities in the state. It was clarified that other issues would be considered later.

Goa has several mining dumps scattered around the countryside, located both on public and private land. These essentially comprise waste earth and rock covering a mineral deposit that was rejected by miners who, in the past were only interested in the higher-grade ore located deeper underneath the opencast pits, Hindustan Times has reported. According to public records, there are 313 dumps of different sizes in the state, with a total estimated quantity of 733.72 million tonnes. There is an aggregate of 139 mining dumps on forest land, of which 95 are in South Goa and 44 in North Goa. The dumps in North Goa comprise 40 percent of the total iron ore dumps located in the state, in terms of quantity, Goa-based publication, Herald has reported.

Case Title

Goa Foundation v. Union of India & Ors. [WP (C) No. 435/2012]