Revision petition, ordinance in pipeline to resume mining in Goa: Minister
Panaji, May 26: The Central government will soon file a revision petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction to resume mining operations in Goa, which stands banned following directions from the apex court in March this year, a Union Minister said on Saturday.
Talking to reporters at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s state headquarters here, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said an ordinance could also be issued by the Centre to pave the way for resumption of mining activity in the state.
"We are working hard to resume mining in Goa. Work is on fast-track. The state government is in touch with the Centre over the issue," Naik told the media.
"The (option of) ordinance is also there. It is a matter of livelihood of our people. We have convinced the Centre about our case."
On March 15 this year, the Supreme Court had banned all mining activity, including transportation of iron ore from Goa's 88 mining leases, and directed the state government to re-issue the leases.
Mining was first banned in 2012 following a series of ban orders from the state government, central government and the Supreme Court, after a Rs 35,000-crore illegal mining was revealed by a judicial commission.
The ban was later lifted in 2014, but the apex court while reprimanding the state government over hurried renewal of mining leases in favour of same mining companies linked to the scam, scrapped all the 88 operational mining leases, and directed the state government to issue the leases afresh as per the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, which mandates auctioning of major mineral resources.
The mining ban has resulted in a lot of pressure on the ruling parties, with locals residing in the mining belt -- which is spread over nearly one-third of the 40 assembly constituencies -- urging their elected representatives to resume operations at the earliest.
Earlier this week, Vijai Sardesai, Town and Country Planning Minister in the BJP-led coalition government and president of the Goa Forward Party, issued a warning to the BJP that his party would rethink supporting the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections if the mining crisis was not resolved at the earliest.
The BJP has 14 MLAs in the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly and currently occupies the treasury benches with the help of three MLAs each from Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as well as three Independent MLAs.
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Board meet to appoint Neville Tata on Sir Ratan Tata Trust as trustee cancelled
New Delhi (PTI): A proposed board meeting of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), which was supposed to take up the appointment of Neville Tata, son of Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, as a trustee on Saturday is understood to have been cancelled due to lack of quorum.
The cancellation of the meeting comes over two months after the failure of the first attempt to induct Neville Tata on the board of SRTT, which holds 23.6 per cent in Tata Sons, the promoter holding firm of the over USD 180 billion Tata Group.
"All trustees could not attend, which is a requirement for trustee appointment," a person with direct knowledge of the development said.
The meeting could be rescheduled in the next few days, the person added.
However, others said the cancellation could be to take more time for discussion among the trustees to reach a consensus on the appointment.
Query to Tata Trusts remained unanswered.
The trustees of SRTT are Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh Jimmy N Tata, Jehangir HC Jehangir and Darius Khambata.
In November last, Neville Tata and former group company leader Bhaskar Bhat were appointed to the Sri Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), which owns 28 per cent in Tata Sons. However, they couldn't be appointed to the SRTT, which holds 23.6 per cent in Tata Sons. Other Tata-affiliated trusts own 13.8 per cent in Tata Sons.
It was apparently because of an objection raised by Venu Srinivasan.
Srinivasan, who was unanimously made lifelong trustee in October 2025, had to witness his appointment revisited "in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements".
The Maharashtra government had in September 2025 amended the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, thereby limiting the number of lifetime trustees to one-fourth of the board strength and mandated fixed terms where trust deeds are silent.
