Mining ban in Karnataka, Goa leaves 1 lakh jobless: Vedanta chief

Ban on iron ore mining in Goa and Karnataka is not only hurting the economy but has rendered as many as one lakh people jobless, Vedanta Resources chief Anil Agarwal said today.

"Paralysis in iron ore mining is hurting industries and people sentiments, has put Goa and Karnataka economy in shambles, leaving 100,000 jobless," Agarwal tweeted today.

His tweet comes against a backdrop of the mining ban hitting the two states hard. The government has already said it is keen on starting ore mining and exports.

Vedanta group has been in the business of iron ore mining and exports for more than 50 years. According to the company, Vedanta had been producing about 20 million tonnes of iron ore prior to the ban.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has recently said the Mines Ministry would move the apex court seeking relaxation in some of the orders passed on iron ore mining in Goa and Karnataka. In April, the Supreme Court partially lifted the ban on mines in Karnataka.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also made a case for increasing exports of iron and other ores.

Before the ban, India was exporting iron ore worth over $7 billion, making it the third-largest global exporter. However, after the 2011 Supreme Court ban, the shipments plunged to 18.37 million tonnes in 2012-13 from 117.4 million tonnes in 2009-2010.

Miners body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has already warned that exports would be likely in single-digits this fiscal.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma too has said that mining is an important industrial activity and India has huge exportable surplus even after meeting the demands of the domestic industry. He also said that mining creates employment for a large number of people.

The Supreme Court ban last year in September came in the wake of the Karnataka Lokayukta report about irregularities in the sector. The ban was later extended to Goa, effectively stopping exports from that state too.

As per reports, the ban on iron ore mining has adversely impacted economic activities in Goa and also the collection of import and export duties.

The realisation from export duty, which had been the major contributor of revenue, slipped to a meagre Rs 14.85 crore during the April-October as compared to Rs 1,166.63 crore in the same period last fiscal.