Expressing the Government’s resentment over failure to receive a bailout, Goa Governor BV Wanchoo, in his speech at the Budget Session of the Goa legislative Assembly, said that with the current Central Government failing to help when in difficult times it would be left to the new Government to extend its hand.
The State, which has had to take a revenue hit, after a mining ban imposed by the Supreme Court, had sought a financial bailout by the Centre. “However, despite our best efforts, the Central Government failed to react in any positive way, even though it has been the biggest beneficiary of iron ore mining and its export from Goa, in the past when mining activity was in full swing,” Wanchoo said, taking off on the Central Government.
Expressing the sentiment of the BJP-ruled Government, Wanchoo added that a new Government at the Centre would perhaps reach out to Goa financially. “I sincerely hope that the new Government which will be formed after the ensuing general elections to the lok Sabha, will lend a helping hand to the State in its hour of need by extending a liberal financial package to compensate the losses suffered by the State,” Wanchoo said.
His speech pointed out that the bad mining had resulted in a 20 per cent loss to the State economy, which worked out to out to over Rs8,700 crores at current prices of 2013-14, whereas the State exchequer has suffered a direct and indirect revenue loss of around Rs2,000 crore as on date. There are more than 1.5 lakh people dependent on the business, the Governor claimed directly or indirectly.
The figure is much lesser than that claimed by the mining companies which have claimed that around 4 lakh people were dependent on mining. Mining has been banned in Goa for over a year and a half now by the Supreme Court, which is probing a Rs35,000 crore illegal mining scam.