Goa iron ore mining received a fresh push from the Centre after Union mines minister G Kishan Reddy said he would work with the environment ministry and Goa government to resolve approval hurdles blocking the resumption of operations, including the extraction of ore from old dumps across the state.
Reddy made the commitment after chairing a review meeting with Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant. He said the Centre and Goa would work together on the administrative challenges affecting the mining sector, particularly the pending environment clearance and forest clearance approvals.
“We need to fully utilize the iron ore dumps because these dumps were extracted many years ago but there is a lot of mineral content in them which can be used,” Reddy said. He added that he would personally speak to the environment ministry, along with Goa government officers, to assess whether amendments were needed to ease the approval process. He said the work would be pursued before the elections.
Goa has auctioned 17 mining blocks, but only six have started operations, according to Sawant. The remaining 11 blocks have not commenced operations because their environmental and forest clearances are pending. Sawant said the state had conveyed these difficulties to Reddy and that the Union minister had agreed to intervene with the ministries of environment, forests and mines.
The state also raised the status of mining areas located within designated Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Sawant said 153 mining leases fall within such areas, including 116 blocks in South Goa. Goa has asked the Centre to find a way to address the issue without disturbing the environment, while allowing what the chief minister described as sustainable mining.
The review also covered old mining dumps. Sawant said 20 dumps containing approximately 40 million tonnes of ore had been auctioned in locations including Sattari, Sanguem and Dharbandora, but remained stuck because of forest-related issues. A further eight iron ore dumps, estimated to contain approximately 100 million tonnes, had been allocated in Sanguem, Bicholim and Dharbandora but were facing queries from statutory authorities and other bodies.
The discussions took place after the fourth conference of mining ministers concluded in Goa, where representatives from different states discussed sectoral challenges, mineral exploration and administrative coordination. Reddy said the Centre and states needed to work together to expedite mineral exploration.
Goa also sought financial assistance through the Inland Waterways Authority of India for dredging the state’s main waterways. Sawant said additional funding would support dredging and help smoothen the transportation of minerals through the waterways. The next steps will depend on consultations between the Goa government and the Union environment ministry, as well as the resolution of pending statutory and forest-related queries.