KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – The western Indian province of Goa is staring at the possibility of a cut in the yearly production cap for iron-ore, following a fresh petition filed before the Supreme Court.
A nongovernmental organisation (NGO) has approached the apex court, seeking a reduction of the production cap from 20-million to 12-million tons a year, at a time when a court-appointed committee had recommended an increase in the production limits.
The NGO is arguing that the current ceiling on yearly production had been fixed without factoring in the adverse impact of mining on the environment and the population in Goa.
Responding to the petition, the Supreme Court directed the Goa government to submit its response before the court, following which the case will be heard again.
In 2014, the Supreme Court imposed a production cap of 20-million tons a year as a condition for the resumption of iron-ore mining, which was banned in the previous year during the hearing of cases involving illegal mining in the region.
The fresh legal case relating to the production ceiling is yet another blow to moribund mining operations in Goa, which are yet to resume after the official mining season reopened on October 1, with the end of the monsoon rainy season.