Centre, state looking to restart mining in Goa in organised way: Goyal

Panaji, Dec 27 The Centre and the state government in Goa are working in tandem to restart the mining industry in the coastal state, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, Goyal said that the BJP had zoomed ahead of rival parties in the run-up to the Assembly polls scheduled early next year, while expressing confidence of BJP's victory in the upcoming elections.

"The Central government is working on a transparent mechanism for mining on the direction of the Supreme Court. The state and the Central governments are working accordingly to restart mining in Goa," said Goyal during his visit to the poll-bound state.

"But the state and Central governments are also looking at means to control pollution and carrying out organised mining," Goyal also said.

Mining excavation in the state has been shut since 2018 after the Supreme Court scrapped the renewal of 88 mining leases citing irregularities.

The Goa government's decision to opt for the auctioning route to restart mining comes ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls and the ruling BJP-led coalition dispensation has come under fire for not being able to restart the mining sector which when at its peak accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the state's gross domestic product.

Commenting on the prospects of the BJP winning the upcoming polls, Goyal said: "We are doing politics of development to provide a good future to the people of Goa. The BJP has zoomed ahead (of all political parties). BJP believes in serving the people. None of these parties are a patch when it comes to delivering good governance as compared to the BJP."

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