 "End of the Goa mining ban: For miners, a long road to recovery")
In a statement to investors, Vedanta Resources, Sesa Sterlite’s parent company, said, “The Supreme Court, in its order, has held all mining leases in Goa, including those of Sesa Sterlite, have expired in 2007. Consequently, no mining operations can be carried out until renewal/execution of mining lease deeds by the state government. The company (Sesa Sterlite) is working towards securing the necessary permissions for commencement of operations at the earliest…The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on mining in Goa, subject to certain conditions. It has imposed an interim restriction on the maximum annual excavation from the mining leases of 20 million tonnes (mt), subject to determination of the final capacity by an expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court.”
The ban on mining in the state had resulted in about 50,000 job losses. On Monday, the Supreme Court had said, “The deemed mining leases of the lessees in Goa expired on November 22, 1987, and the 20-year renewal period of the leases in Goa expired on November 22, 2007. Consequently, mining by the lessees after that date was illegal.” However, the Goa government had revived many of these expired leases. Apart from Sesa Sterlite, other major miners in the state included VM Salgaocar & Bro Pvt Ltd and Fomento Resources.
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries Director-General R K Sharma said Sesa Sterlite would have to apply for fresh licenses, adding it might take one-two years before mining operations can were restarted. “Most mining companies are operating under deemed extension clauses. But what will happen if the first renewal has expired and the lease has not been renewed?” he asked. A Sesa Sterlite official, however, said the company might be able to restart mining within six months, as the state government was proactive. Before the ban was implemented, Sesa Sterlite was producing about 14 mt a year.
Due to a ban on mining in Goa and Karnataka, Sesa Sterlite had suffered huge setbacks. In January this year, the company had, in a bid to cut costs, issued layoff notices to 1,017 workers in its mining units in Goa, under Section 5B of the Industrial Disputes Act. As of March, 2013, Sesa Sterlite's iron ore business had 3,857 employees and 2,497 contractual/temporary workers, according to the company's annual report for 2012-13. In 2012-13, the company reduced its employee strength 18 per cent.
It had also deferred the payment of 25 per cent of the salaries for the senior management, including the company's managing director and other board members, and 10 per cent for manager-level employees. Last month, PK Mukherjee had quit as the company’s managing director, last month after about 20 years in Sesa Sterlite (earlier Sesa Goa). For now, iron ore division head Pramod Unde is in charge of the post.
For 2012-13, Sesa Sterlite's net profit declined 92.8 per cent to Rs 120.7 crore from Rs 1,679.94 crore for 2011-12, while income from operations declined 58.96 per cent to Rs 2,784.17 crore.