Mining supports 3,00,000 people in the State.
Polytechnic Mining Alumni Association of Goa (PolyMAAG), the pre-eminent body of mining engineers in the state has appealed to Dr. Pramod Sawant, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa to take immediate steps to ensure resumption of mining operations in the state of Goa. PolyMAAG has requested Honorable Chief Minister to impress upon Prime Minister on the need to do away with the present mining stoppage in the state to address the sufferings of Goans through the means legislative amendment.
In the economic development of any nation, sustainable exploration and mining of minerals play a vital role. 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 3,00,000 people in the State dependent upon the mining industry for their livelihoods generation and fulfillment.
In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, tourism sector which is one of Goa’s biggest revenue-earner and employment generator has totally stopped. 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 mining industry in the state due to its unique characteristics of being self-reliant in terms of local employees, machinery, equipment etc. is best placed to step into this vacuum and give much needed relief to the state exchequer.
Commenting on the need to resume mining in Goa, Mr. Raju Salgaonkar, President, PolyMAAG said, “At the outset, we would like to thank Hon’ble Chief Minister, Dr. Pramod Sawant for his sincere efforts to resume mining activities in the state of Goa. The present Covid 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. 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. We therefore request the Chief Minister to kindly take up the matter with Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modiji and resume mining through the means as suggested by the State Government in its recent communication to the centre. 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.”
Mining in the state of Goa came to an abrupt halt in the month of March 2018 subsequent to the order from the Supreme Court. This has resulted in livelihoods of more than 300000 Goans being affected. By various estimates, the state of Goa has faced a loss of around Rs. 7000 crores in the last two years due to the stoppage of mining industry, while our nation has lost around two Billion Dollars of valuable foreign exchange that the states mining industry used to generate from its exports.