Mining engineers of Goa asks state govt to take immediate steps for resuming operations

The mining industry in the state due to its unique characteristics of being self-reliant in terms of local employees and machinery among others is best placed to step into this vacuum and give much needed relief to the state exchequer.The present COVID-19 pandemic has created a greater challenge for the state of Goa which was already staring at an economic downturn due to abrupt stoppage of mining activities from March 16, 2018, it said.

An association of mining engineers of Goa on Tuesday said it has appealed to the state government to take immediate steps for resuming operations. "Polytechnic Mining Alumni Association of Goa (PolyMAAG), the pre-eminent body of mining engineers in the state, has appealed to Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, to take immediate steps to ensure resumption of mining operations in the state of Goa," it said in a statement.

PolyMAAG said that it has also made a request to Sawant to take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the economic development of any nation, sustainable exploration and mining of minerals plays a vital role, it said, adding that in India, the mining industry is the third largest in terms of generating jobs per unit increase in the sectoral GDP. The iron ore mining industry in the state supports more than 60,000 direct and indirect jobs with more than three lakh people in the state dependent upon the mining industry for their livelihoods generation and fulfilment, the body said.

In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the tourism sector which is one of Goa’s biggest revenue-earner and employment generator has totally stopped, it noted. Considering the nature of the pandemic, the tourism industry in the state is unlikely to pick-up for at least 12-15 months, resulting in widespread job loss and loss to state revenue during this period, the body of mining engineers said. The mining industry in the state due to its unique characteristics of being self-reliant in terms of local employees and machinery among others is best placed to step into this vacuum and give much needed relief to the state exchequer.

The present COVID-19 pandemic has created a greater challenge for the state of Goa which was already staring at an economic downturn due to abrupt stoppage of mining activities from March 16, 2018, it said. People impacted by the sudden stoppage of mining activities are still yet to find an alternative source of livelihood and their future is looking bleak with each passing day, the body said. "We therefore request the Chief Minister to kindly take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and resume mining through the means as suggested by the state government in its recent communication to the centre," Raju Salgaonkar, President of PolyMAAG, said. Resumption of mining activities would not only provide avenues of income and livelihood to the state population but also help in providing much needed revenue to the state exchequer, it said.

Mining in the state of Goa came to as abrupt halt in March 2018 subsequent to the order from the Supreme Court. By various estimates, the state of Goa has faced a loss of around Rs 7,000 crore in the last two years due to the stoppage of mining industry, while the nation has lost around USD 2 billion of valuable foreign exchange that the states mining industry used to generate from its exports..