India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 14, ruled that erstwhile iron ore mining lease holders in the western coastal state of Goa will have until January 31, 2021, to liquidate stocks already mined before March 15, 2018, when the court ordered a ban on mining operations, a government official said on Thursday, October 15.
The official said that the court ruled that previous mining lease holders will be able to transport and remove stocks of iron ore validly mined before the effective date of the ban subject to payment of royalties and other statutory dues.
However, the government of Goa will need to verify all quantities of stocks that are evacuated from mining sites and stocks have to match those on government records, he added.
The Supreme Court also added that all erstwhile mining lease holders which have failed to remove their stocks within the January 31 deadline will be liable for confiscation of the entire stocks by the state government.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court in a ruling cancelled all renewal of mining leases in Goa as they had not been renewed adopting the auction route, with the court ruling that all renewals were illegal, and imposed a ban on all mining operations in Goa with effect from March 15, 2020.