State appoints TERI for iron ore reclamation, waste stabilisation of mining dumps

Panaji: The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to appoint The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to provide advisory support for iron ore reclamation and waste stabilisation activities for mining dumps in Goa. TERI will also monitor the operations of the dumps to avoid environmental degradation.

TERI will prepare common guidelines for bidders to submit the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for handling dumps and waste. It will evaluate the DPRs against the guidelines, provide recommendations and a report, and conduct periodical monitoring of dump handling, including waste handling. Any additional work entrusted by the directorate of mines & geology will be carried out at the cost of Rs 2.5 lakh per dump.

Supreme Court observed that dumping minerals outside the leased area of the mining lessees is not permissible under the MMDR Act and the rules made thereunder. It also constituted an expert committee consisting of six members to conduct a macro-EIA study and propose a ceiling on the annual excavation of iron ore from Goa. The court also sought the opinion of the expert committee on how to deal with the mining dumps outside the leased area. The expert committee submitted its reports, and the issue regarding dumps was covered in the interim report of the expert committee, the cabinet said.

Goa govt also filed an interlocutory application praying for permission to carry out dump mining based on the recommendations of the expert committee. This application was allowed, thereby permitting Goa govt to carry out dump mining activities in accordance with the expert committee's report, the cabinet said.

Accordingly, the DMG has framed an e-auction policy for dumps. The e-auction policy specifies how the e-auction of the dumps is to be conducted. It is essential to prepare a DPR of the dump by the bidder for which he or she wishes to bid, along with the technical bid. The DPR shall consist of a dump handling plan, waste handling plan, drainage pattern, and reclamation plan, etc.