The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on Thursday said that the draft mining policy would be available to public scrutiny and for submitting objections and suggestion till December 31, 2008, and called upon the members of the House to come forward with their views so that the issue could be settled once for all to the satisfaction of everybody concerned.

Replying to the queries raised by the members of the House during discussion on the demands for information and publicity, information technology and mining departments held by him, the Chief Minister said that mining was not his creation and that it existed even before he became a minister and that time has come to fix parameters for its operation. The policy would be finalised early next year, he added. 

He also said that mine owners have to come forward and show their corporate social responsibility by ploughing back some percentage of their earning in to the villages from where they carry out mining activities. He said that following changes in mining policy royalty would be charged ad-valorem by the central government.

As regards to charges of illegal mining in Sanguem taluka, he laid file containing the details of the mine on the table of the House and also the case of difference in collection of royalty. 

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