Journals Proceedings

International Journal of Applied Science and Environmental Engineering

ENVIRONMENT ENGINEERING TO MITIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN GOA WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON MINING

Author(s) : DEBASIS PATNAIK , RONIT DATTA

Abstract

Located on the West coast and spanning 7000 sq. km, Goa is Indias smallest state by area with nearly 38% of its area is forest. However, it has significant deposits of manganese, bauxite and iron ore. The then Portuguese government handed 700 mining concessions to allow people to mine the area. Post liberation, the Government of India cancelled these concessions and provided mining leases under the purview of Indian mining and environmental regulation, in 1987. Despite these measures, the mining industry has grown exponentially form less than 5 million tonnes in the 1960s to more than nearly 60 million tonnes in 2011, after which an inquiry into illegal mining by the Shah commission and a supreme court interim ban on all extraction occurred. In April 2014, the ban has been lifted and an annual cap of 20 million tonnes has been placed (Goa foundation - Sweet Land of Mine, 2009). The main rivers Mandovi and Zuari both flowing into the Arabian sea are navigable by barges used for transporting the ore. Iron ore, Manganese ore, Bauxite are minerals of economic importance. Besides there are minor minerals like Basalt, Laterite stones and rubbles, River sand, Murrum etc., which are in great demand as construction material. This industry is labour intensive and provides work to large number of people. Mining in Goa today is synonymous with iron ore mining.

No fo Author(s) : 2
Page(s) : 319 - 325
Electronic ISSN : A-F
Volume 1 : Issue 1
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