Will expose several ‘Madhu Kodas’ in Goa: BJP

PANAJI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday alleged that state support to illegal mining and corruption in Goa’s mining industry had reached “unacceptable levels” and vowed to expose “several Madhu Kodas” in the state, during the forthcoming assembly session.

Addressing a press conference here, Leader of Opposition in the assembly Manohar Parrikar said that the state government’s moves to carve out new mining leases measuring 600,000 sq mt in South Goa in face of public opposition, smacked of corruption and vested interests.

“Everyone from the collector to the talathi (mofussil revenue officer) is involved in manipulating documentation in order to create these new mining leases,” he alleged.

“During the assembly session, the BJP will expose the several Madhu Kodas in Goa who are ravaging and squeezing the state dry,” Parrikar said, referring to former Jharkand chief minister Madhu Koda who is at the centre of a Rs.2,500 crore scam involving kick backs from corporate mining houses to open up mining leases in Jharkhand.

Parrikar had earlier alleged that Koda had mining interests in Goa and was hand in glove with several of Goa’s top ranking politicians as far as illegal mining was concerned.

Mining for low grade iron ore and manganese is one of the principal industries in the state, fetching nearly Rs.6,000 crore revenue from exporting the ore to countries like China and Japan. The 100 mines in Goa export nearly 30 million tonnes of iron ore annually.