The future of mining in Goa in a word is: bleak! The mine owners have raped the Goan earth and reaped a fortune, enough for several generations. The Shah and PAC reports are now buried under a mountain of rubble. Sad indeed.
Mining in Goa in the last few years sans rules and regulations can be compared to the California gold rush. However, with the international price of ore where it is at present, and the quality of Goan ore along with the high export tax, isn't it reasonable to think even the mine owners might not be interested in restarting mining? The central government may reduce the export tax on ore but as Goa's export policy has been anti-PM Modi for quite some time the reduction of the export tax is probably going to be nothing more than a polite political gesture. But, as always, there is a silver lining which however will not bring a smile to the faces of owners of trucks and barges. They are, unfortunately, not a part of the Goan Dream. The fall out of mining is for the villagers to pick up. They are now free to go back to agriculture and their previous lifestyle prior to falling prey to the iron ore rush! Goa's environment, however, now has a brighter future thanks to various factors. Farmers and villagers in the mining areas can breathe some fresh air. Let's not devalue fresh air. In Delhi where an apartment costs an arm and a leg - crores - several countries have ordered their embassy staff not to work for more than two or three years for the good of their health. Maybe our Defense Minister comes to Goa also to breath some fresh air. If so who can blame him? It is the intelligent thing to do! While some intellectuals enjoy beating the drum on how Manohar Parrikar comes to Goa to sell or buy fish, they are grossly underestimating the finesse and incisive mind of Goa's former Chief Minister who might well become the next Prime Minister of India in the BJP dramatic political story, Part 2. While PM Modi stridently takes the role of hero in BJP story Part 1, and a right choice, too, the sequel demands a whole lot of subtlety aka Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar! On a recent trip to Margao I began to feel the air pollution in my nostrils, had difficulty breathing, and started to believe our commercial city can claim to be the true Son of Delhi. How high is the pollution level in Margao? And, the land price? Our villages are starting to catch up, and unless Goans act, and act soon, Goa might become a good case history of a study in greed and a model for disaster! Maybe the land prices in the mining areas in Goa are nowhere near Delhi's but the air - something we need every moment of our lives until our end - is great! Will the people who live in our towns and villages in Goa need an earthquake or tsunami to wake up? Are our farmers better off in the now defunct mining areas in Goa than Delhi's millionaires?
