Goa miners’ body says it may file review petition in Supreme Court against mining ban
The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association made the decision after its chief met Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari in Panaji.
An organisation that represents mine owners in Goa on Tuesday announced that it might file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its judgement quashing 88 mining leases in the state, PTI reported.
The decision of the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association comes a day after hundreds of protestors agitated in Panaji against the court’s decision. Several roads were blocked in the capital as people dependent on the mining industry, including truck and barge owners, joined the protests.
“We are studying the decision before filing a review petition in the Supreme Court,” the organisation’s president, Ambar Timblo, told reporters after meeting Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari in Panaji on Tuesday afternoon. “I believe some members of the GMOEA are going to file a review petition sometime this week.”
All mining companies in Goa stopped their operations on March 16 on the court’s February order quashing the state government’s direction to renew the licenses of mining companies. The Supreme Court had said fresh leases would be issued only after the companies get environment clearances and had ordered the government to start a fresh auction process.