 "2007 Goa mining case: SC to hear PIL filed by Prashant Bhushan")
The Supreme Court will on Monday hear the 2007 Goa mining case on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan.
Earlier in October 2012, the apex court suspended all iron ore mining and transportation in the state following a report submitted by Justice M.B. Shah Commission, which found that millions of tonnes of iron ore was illegally mined by a dozen mining companies.
The report also stated that illegal mining was being carried out in collusion with the government including the then chief minister Digambar Kamat which pegged the losses to the state at about Rs. 35,000 crore.
The Supreme Court later in May 2013 relaxed its order allowing mining with an annual cap of 20 million tonnes.
In 2015, the state government renewed 88 mining leases, all owned by the very same lease-holders who were involved in illegal mining.