Porvorim: Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai told the House that the state government is eyeing substantial revenue from the e-auction of the unclaimed iron ore heaps lying on private lands.
The Governor was addressing the first day of the two-day-long winter session of the Goa Legislative Assembly, which began on Thursday.
The session began with minor protests by the opposition members, who demanded that the session should have been longer. Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar appealed to the opposition benches to maintain decorum in the House.
After a brief protest, the opposition benches sat in their seats, paving the way for an uninterrupted address by the Governor.
The Governor said, “My Government has approved the revised Goa Iron Ore Mining Dump Handling Policy, 2023, which allows it to e-auction unclaimed ore lying in the form of dumps at various private locations in the state.”
“The Government is eyeing substantial revenue from the e-auction of these unclaimed iron ore heaps lying on private lands,” he said.
Pillai said that five leases each for Basalt and laterite stone have been granted under the minor minerals section for 2024-25, up to November 2024.
The Governor said that eleven mining blocks have been auctioned, of which two have started operations. “Another 2-3 will start operations in the next two months. This has resulted in revenue maximization and employment generation,” he said.
The Governor said that eighteen low-grade mining dumps have been put up for auction with an approximate quantity of 52 million tons, which will earn sizable revenue for the state and generate direct and indirect employment.
He said that applications are invited for sand mapping in the Mandovi and Zuari rivers. “Upon receipt of environmental clearance, sand extraction permits will be given in 12 zones,” the Governor added.
Speaking further, the Governor said that under the MSME Samadhan-Delayed Payment Monitoring System for Micro and Small Enterprises, 79 applications have been reported in 2024-25 with an amount of Rs. 51.45 crore, out of which 30 applications have been disposed of, amounting to Rs. 0.85 crore.
He said that during 2024-25, up to November 2024, under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, the government has disbursed subsidies amounting to Rs. 81.03 lakh, involving a project cost of Rs. 266.29 lakh.
“During the same period, under the Promotion for Beekeeping Scheme, 29 proposals for 60 bee boxes have been sanctioned,” the Governor added.
The Governor said that under the Goa Tribal’s Employment Generation Programme Scheme, 2017, an amount of Rs. 122.60 lakh has been disbursed to 21 beneficiaries/units, out of which Rs. 81.58 lakh is subsidy.
“Under the Chief Minister’s Rozgar Yojana, since inception, loans amounting to Rs. 255.04 crore have been disbursed to seven thousand eight hundred ninety-seven (7,897) beneficiaries up to December 2024,” he added.
