Goa Mining Ban Affecting Revenue, Says Parrikar

Panaji: The ban by the Supreme Court on mining in Goa would affect revenue collection for the current fiscal but efforts were being made to tide over 4,000 crore loss, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

Parrikar was speaking to a select audience at a Panaji hotel, after he received Indian Politician of the Year award of CNN-IBN news channel.

Parrikar said the volume of the contribution of the mining industry had changed over the years and that the Goa government in that period has come to rely on revenue generated from the mining sector.

"Five years ago mining revenue was hardly 25 crore, but things are different now," he said.

Parrikar said the income earned from mining accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the state gross domestic product (GDP).

The revenue loss caused by the impact would be around 4,000 crore, the chief minister said.

"I have many other plans to generate revenue, from which we can generate about 3,000 crore," he said.

Commenting on the future of the mining industry, Parrikar said the matter was up to the courts now.

"Let the courts decide," the chief minister said.