|
|
|
'12.8 lakh jobs lost in Karnataka, Goa mining sector'
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 11 Sep, 2019
A whopping 12.8 lakh direct and indirect jobs were lost in the mining
sector across Karnataka and Goa due to failure of regulatory mechanism,
lack of oversight, judicial intervention and closure of mines, an
industry official said on Wednesday.
"Though the mining sector is
the third largest employment generator after agriculture and
construction, closure of mines in Karnataka and Goa has resulted in the
loss of 12,80,000 direct and indirect jobs since 2011-12 due to
ineffective regulatory mechanism, lack of monitoring and oversight at
the ground level, and the Supreme Court's interventions," Federation of
Indian Minerals Industries (Fimi) President Sunil Duggal told IANS here.
For
every one job the sector creates, 10 indirect jobs are generated with a
force multiplier through linkages and supply chains from mining the
rich minerals to their use in the end products.
"Closure of 166
iron ore mines in Karnataka's Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts
since 2011 led to 80,000 direct lay-offs, affecting 8 lakh people
indirectly. Similarly, suspension of all mining activities across Goa
since 2012 for similar reasons resulted in the loss of 1 lakh direct and
3 lakh indirect jobs," lamented Duggal.
The decade-long
multi-crore scams in Karnataka's 'Republic of Bellary' from 2001-2011
forced the apex court to ban mining in the southern state, favouring
auctioning of the mines rather than leasing and renewing the licences of
the miners.
"The top court on July 29, 2011 and August 26, 2011
banned all activities in Karnataka's three mineral-rich districts due to
encroachment and dumping beyond the lease areas, in which 166 firms
were mining," recalled Duggal.
Similarly, the apex court
suspended all mining operations in Goa on October 5, 2012, as renewals
were pending over the years and concerns were growing over the
increasing environmental pollution in the absence of protective
measures.
"Though the Goa government in 2014 renewed leases with
checks and balances to mine iron ore up to 20 million tonne per annum,
the Supreme Court on February 7, 2018 cancelled the renewal orders of 88
mines, leading to their closure on March 16, 2018," said Duggal.
As
in other core sectors, one mining job provides work for its associated
functionaries, including truck owners, drivers, cleaners, repair shops,
petrol-diesel retail outlets, hotels, groceries and banks.
"The
closure of iron ore mining in Goa has adversely impacted the coastal
state's economy, with a revenue loss of Rs 5,830 crore for the state as
well as the Centre," said Duggal, who is also the Chief Executive of New
Delhi-based Vedanta Ltd for base metals.
The Karnataka
government lost Rs 10,000 crore over the last 7-8 years in the form of
licence fee, royalty, taxes and duties. State-run banks suffered an
asset deterioration of up to Rs 50,000 crore.
"The closure of
mines affected raw material (iron) supply to steel and sponge iron
plants in Karnataka, and caused production loss in downstream industries
such as automobiles, consumer durables, machine tools and engineering
products, jeopardising 2 lakh direct jobs," Duggal said.
The lack
of monitoring and oversight at the ground level by the state
governments led to irregularities and poor implementation of mining
laws.
"The failure of regulatory mechanism led to judicial
intervention by the Supreme Court in Karnataka, Goa and even Odisha,
where excessive production of iron and manganese ore beyond the
environment clearance and other statutory limits forced the top court to
impose 109 per cent penalties on the mining firms on June 2, 2017,"
added Duggal.
As many firms were unable to pay the penalty, they
had to shut the mines. Their closure led to the loss of direct/indirect
jobs running into thousands.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|