The Supreme Court today questioned the Centre for granting environment clearance certificates to mining firms, involved in the extraction of iron ore in Goa, allegedly without proper documentation and verifications.
"How you (Ministry of Environment and Forests) have given Environment Clearance (EC) certificates to them (mining companies). Have you considered the cumulative effect (of granting EC certificates) on the environment," a bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik said.
The court said that it would like to hear the response of Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran on behalf of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on the issue before hearing the Goa government.
The forest bench, on October 5, last year, had halted the mining operations in all the 90 mines in Goa considering the Justice M B Shah Commission report that had indicted almost all the miners saying the illegal extraction of iron ore during last 12 years had caused a loss of Rs 35,000 crore to the state exchequer.
The bench, also comprising comprising justices S S Nijjar and F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, today started hearing the PIL filed by the Goa Foundation, an environmental action group, after Sesa Goa, a Vedanta group firm and country's largest producer and exporter of iron ore in the private sector, recently sought early dicision on the issue.
Prashant Bhushan, during his day-long arguments on behalf of the foundation, highlighted various alleged violations of law and other regulatory measures by the mining firms in Goa and sought that the mining leases, which expired in 2007, be not renewed and be rather auctioned.
"Environment Clearance Certificates, issued by MoEF, were are issued without proper documentation and verifications," he said adding that they (ECCs) are presently suspended and now be cancelled.
"There is connivance between mine operators, politicians and bureaucrats: the criminal nexus of these parties has been used to enhance private gains and defraud the State exchequer," he said, citing the Shah panel report and sought a probe by the SIT, CBI or by Goa Lok Ayukta".
