PANJIM: As the mining lobby waits with baited breath for the Supreme Court judgement on the writ petition, things began to churn at the State level with the Department of Mines and Geology Monday starting the process of renewing mining leases pending since 2007 and getting an ‘in-principle’ approval for renewal of one mine, an official disclosed.

The department’s proposal was cleared ‘in principle’ by Chief Minister and Mines Minister Manohar Parrikar and then sent to the Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni for legal approval.