It is not just allocation of coal blocks that is being questioned.

The judicial panel has recommended that the money should be recovered by the state from the mine owners

Following Justice M B Shah Commission's report on illegal iron ore mining in Goa, the state government is apparently non-committal on recovering a whopping Rs 35,000 crore from the mine owners who illegally plundered the resources. In its report, Shah Commission has pointed out around 100 encroachments outside the mining lease areas by the companies which extracted large sums of ore between 2006-2010.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to register a case tomorrow to probe the illegal mining of 5.07 million tonnes of iron ore from forests in Karnataka.

The case, being filed on the directions of the Supreme Court, is also likely to probe the role of the state police and other authorities, tasked to check large-scale mining and export of the ore. CBI Director A P Singh held meetings with senior officials to finalise the case, in which the agency might probe as to how around 0.8 million tonnes of ore seized by the forest department was allowed to be exported to various foreign companies from the Belekeri port, official sources said.

Most clearances are learnt to have been granted during 2007-09, when PM Manmohan Singh held the environment portfolio

In a major crackdown on illegal mining in mineral-rich Goa, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) on Wednesday suspended the environment clearances of all 93 leases in the state, asking the mine owners to file their documents. Some of the projects came under attack for illegal mining belong to Dempo Mining Corp, Emco Goa, Mineira National, Sesa Goa, V M Salgaocar & Bro and Chowgule & Co. Many of these clearances are learnt to have been granted during 2007-09, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the environment portfolio.

New Delhi: The inter-ministerial group mandated to review coal allocations in the wake of Coalgate may not be able to take a final decision on 29 coal blocks given to private firms when it meets on

Clearances To Miners Violated Norms: Panel

Mumbai The mining ban imposed by the state government of Goa is unlikely to have a major impact on the likes of iron miner Sesa Goa as the current quarter is a lean season for mining in the state, analysts said on Tuesday.

“Seasonally, Q2 is the weakest quarter for Sesa Goa, where it sells only 10-12% of its annual output, given the monsoon in Goa,” said Bhavesh Chauhan, metals analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Angel Broking. Meanwhile, Sesa Goa said on Tuesday that it has begun efforts to ensure early restart of the company’s operations in the state.

New Delhi In a move that might speed up environmental clearances for mining firms, the Centre may ask the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to independently verify compliance of norms suggested by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for all mining projects.

This is being done to ensure constant monitoring of projects during the execution and completion stages. The MoEF has already proposed the need for evolving an independent monitoring system to get a fair assessment of the project and also reduce chances of conflict between the ministry and project proponents.

Goa temporarily halted iron ore mining from Tuesday to check if operations were legal, a move that is expected to further dent exports from India and support flagging global prices.

PANJIM: Activists across the board have scoffed at the Government decision to halt all mining activity till action is taken against all, saying that the decision to shut mining, but allowing transportation of ore in transit was encouraging illegal mining.

Leading the war cries Ramesh Gauns, punched holes in Parrikar’s decision and said that the Government should seize the collected ore and auction it as part of measures to recover the money.