NO NEW MINING LEASE IN QUEPEM

The government has no intention of considering new applications for grant of leases in Quepem taluka, chief minister Digambar Kamat informed the House . Replying to the calling attention motion tabled by Quepem MLA Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar, he said that the directorate of mines and geology has received several applications regarding mining leases in some areas of Quepem, but they will not be approved. Kamat had told the House that applications for renewal of mining leases and fresh ones for prospecting are being received by the mines department, but government will not grant any new lease till the mining policy is approved. Kavlekar alleged that applications for mining leases in five panchayats of Naqueri, Betul, Fatorpa, Morpirla, Benurdem and other places had been received by the mines department, and the villagers were kept in the dark about it. "The land required for mining was mostly agricultural, owned and tilled by scheduled tribes," he said. Kavlekar said that the villages would be wiped out if mining was allowed in them as vast areas were sought to be brought under mining.