New Delhi: The Goa government and miners have been barred from removing dumps from iron ore mines located in the state, an environment ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
“The dumps can’t be touched. They are illegal and are being examined by the ministry,” the official said.
The environment ministry had on Wednesday suspended environmental clearances for all of Goa’s 93 mines.
Goa has an estimated 750 million tonnes of dumps, most of which have been accumulated since the iron ore boom started in 2005. A lot of the dumps are lying in public places and forest areas. Environmentalists say the dumps need to be filled back in to the mines, while the Goa government has considered selling them.
