BMM extends support to agitating Pilgao farmers against Vedanta mining plunder

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Bharat Mukti Morcha, Goa Unit express support and solidarity with farmers and villagers of Pilgao village in Goa's Bicholim taluka who have blocked transportation of iron ore from their paddy fields for past three days.

The bold step of the farmers and villagers of Pilgaon found support from State administration after Director of Mines admitted that Vedanta mining company has no dedicated road of its own to transport iron ore in trucks.

Vedanta Limited had submitted in their EIA Report that the company has dedicated road of its own to transport iron ore to access 900 meters public road connecting Sarmanas loading Jetty.

Vedanta has neither formal nor informal agreements with farmers to use paddy fields to move-in mining trucks.

Few months back Goa's Chief Minister had used police force to clear farmers blockades of the trucks in paddy fields. 

This Bicholim Mineral Block  I has leased 872 hectares of land for mining purpose for 50 years. This includes inland wetlands consisting of lakes in Lamgao and Mulgao and tributary of Mandovi river in Sirigao.

The dangerous aspect that got revealed in the process is complicit role of MoEF& CC and its Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to entertain false information in the EIA report because of reasons best known to them.

Mining in Goa continues to a scam. Rs 35,000 crore was estimated by Justice Shah commission to have been robbed off but Goa Government haven't recovered the amount so far.

Call to halt Iron Ore transportation on Public Road at leading to Sarmanas Ferry point

Risky Sarmanas road on 19 October 2024

Bharat Mukti Morcha is deeply concerned about risky situation developed on the Sarmanas road due to unsafe transportation of iron ore on public road leading to ferry point.

Iron ore transportation is being carried on from Vedanta Mines at Bicholim Mineral Block I causing Public Health hazards. Following spillage of ore on public road movement of vehicles and pedestrians has turned increasing risky.

Bharat Mukti Morcha calls for immidiate halt to ore transportation by mining company using Public Road leading to Sarmanas Ferry point.

Goa CM towards making Villages vulnerable to mining industry, but why?

Why Goa CM is so determined to make Goa villages vulnerable to mining industry?

Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant is in Delhi on a mission rather sinister: to ask for the exception of application of provision (i) of the Office Memorandum dated 29 October 2014 issued by Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dealing with safety of village roads from transportation of mineral ore that reads as follows:

"Transportation of the minerals by road passing through the village shall not be allowed. A 'bypass' road should be constructed (say, a leaving gap of at least 200 meters) for the purpose of the transportation of the minerals so that the impact of sound, dust and accident could be mitigated. The PP shall bear the cost towards widening and strengthening of existing public road network in case the same is proposed to be used for the project. No road movement should be allowed on existing village road network without appropriately increasing carrying capacity of such roads."

What Goa CM is proposing is very dangerous. He is challenging established environmental jurisprudence of India designed to defend village integrity from mining menace.

When he and the Project Proponent (PP) knew that there were no legal access roads that are available for the transportation of mineral iron ore in Pilgao and Mayem then it was wrong in the first place to go for the auctioning of the ore. It was double wrong to go for the public hearing by concealing this information in EIA report.

So the first wrong has been committed by Goa Government by going for auctioning of Bicholim Mineral Block I to Vedanta Private Limited without ready access road on ground.

The second wrong is committed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change by granting Environmental Clearance without legal access road to transport extracted iron ore.

Under no circumstances villagers of Mayem and Pilgao and other villages should be put to risk by opening their village roads for transportation of minerals from any of the mining companies.

Office Memorandum provides safeguards from impact of sound, dust and accident. Goa CM is attempting in Delhi to make our villages vulnerable to the impact of sound, dust and accident from mining ore transportation. Goa has has lost far too many lives due to mining triggered accidents over the past decades and CM desires more blood and lives of people of Goa.

This CM Sawant is certaintly acting against village safety interests on behalf of mining industry. In fact he should be flung out of his chair much before any of the cabinet ministers like Govind Gawde.

Mining in Goa has roots in Portuguese colonial rule and has continued unabated after 18 December 1961 veto by Soviet Union at UN security council that allowed India to annex Goa through conquest. Mining is top most industry that has corrupted Goa's polity and Chief Minister is its highly corroded beneficiary. As a consequence he is unable to represent people of Goa inpite of elections and represents only mining industry that has enslaved Goa CM. Slave has no mind of his own but has to obey master's orders. Who is the master of Goa CM Sawant for whom he is behaving in this bizarre manner? Undoubtedly it's mining industry that rules his mind and he doesn't think twice before betraying people of Goa. Election is more of Commerce than anything else. Democracy is hijacked by mining industry.

It's mining industry that moves his gloves to Delhi to box out 29 October 2014 office Memorandum of MOEF&CC and make villages in Goa vulnerable to mining industry.