In the light of careless handling of hazardous material by private companies at Cuncolim Industrial Estate, the government has been forced to step in and work out a solution. But shouldn’t stringent environmental safeguards be built into the industrial and investment policies to arrest fly-by-night operators, asks Guilherme Almeida

MARGAO: A whopping 25,000 tons of hazardous waste generated by Sunrise Zinc Ltd is ticking like a time bomb at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate and neither the present firm occupying the plot- the Axis, nor the State Bank of India has cared to act responsibly in disposing off the waste, with the result that the Goa State Industrial Development Corporation (GSIDC)

London Vedanta posted a drop in full-year iron ore output on Tuesday, hit by a ban on mining in Karnataka and logistical bottlenecks in Goa that dented one of its key profit contributors.

Iron ore, a steelmaking ingredient, is typically one of Vedanta’s most profitable products along with zinc, accounting for almost a third of profits, but output has been constrained in recent quarters by curbs to combat illegal mining.

With global meltdown hitting hard, it is time to invest in exploration and mining of zinc, according to Mr P. Parvathisem, former Chairman and Managing Director of Nalco and Hindustan Copper.

The Delhi High Court (HQ recently reserved its order on the import of zinc and lead ash skimmings after hearing a marathon argument on a petition filed by the Zinc Manufacturers Association