The Goa Mines and Geology Department is conducting a survey of all mining leases to find out if they encroached upon areas outside their demarcated zones to extract ore, as mentioned by the Justice M. B. Shah Commission in its report.
The survey is being conducted with the Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), an instrument that gives accurate data about encroachments, said the Director of Mines Prasanna Acharya.
The M. B. Shah panel in its report on illegal mining in Goa has pointed out that there are 100 mining leases that have encroached outside the demarcated areas.
However, the miners have contested the Google maps saying the Shah Commission has “wrongly” mapped these areas.
The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association (GMOEA), an association representing exporters and miners, had said some adjacent leases were shown as encroachment by the Commission in its report.
Acharya said the DGPS survey of the first five leases, all of them owned by Sesa Goa Ltd, would be completed by October 13. “Once we get the first report on five leases, we will continue with the remaining 95 leases,” he added.
According to the Shah panel, the mine owners by encroaching outside their areas had extracted ore worth Rs 35,000 crore, which needs to be recovered from them.
The Goa Mines and Geology Department earlier this week had issued show-cause notices to all the 100 mining lease-holders asking them why action should not be initiated against them.
The lease-holders have been given time till October 22 to respond to the notices.