Panaji, Oct 11 (IANS): The authorities at Goa's only major port have said it was up to the state government agencies, especially the mines department headed by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for 12 years, to monitor illegal mining and extraction of ore.
Less than a week ago, Kamat blamed the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) authorities for exporting illegal iron ore.
The MPT said in an official statement: "Iron ore is mined as per environment clearance orders and thereafter relevant laws are enforced by Goa Pollution Control Board, Directorate of Mines and Geology and the Transport Department. The whole area of mines is under the administrative control of the state government."
"The trucks unload iron ore transported from the mines at the jetty near the river. The ore is stored and accumulated at jetty points. Even at this point, any government department can verify the legality of iron ore," the central government agency which functions under the union shipping ministry stated.
Beleaguered by allegations of protecting the mammoth illegal mining industry in Goa, Kamat had said last week: "I tried to put a new system in order in February 2010 - that no ship would leave the port without a NOC from department of mines. But MPT refused to obey our instructions."
"The new system that MPT should have implemented on its own came into effect only in February this year," he added.
The MPT headed by P. Mara Pandiyan has now said that illegal ore could be easily checked by the government.
"Can the legality of iron ore not be verified by state machinery when it is transported for such a long period through different modes of transport," the statement asked.
"A port trust has no means to ascertain whether a cargo is sourced from a legitimate mine or not. It is the responsibility of the Department of Mines to monitor the same and issue certificates as regards legality of ore," the MPT has said.
The Congress-led state government is under the scanner for a Rs.25,000 crore illegal mining scam as alleged by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in Goa's politician-bureaucrat-mining lobby nexus, which it said was fuelling illegal mining that accounted for one-third of the state's 54 million tonne iron ore export annually.