ECI lens on Goa govt’s mining contract to Vedanta in Model Code period
An NGO called Goa Foundation had lodged a complaint and had alleged that ‘the contract was meant to influence elections’
A mining contract that was given by the Goa government to Vedanta Limited after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha elections came into force has come under the Election Commission’s lens.
Acting on a complaint by an NGO called Goa Foundation on April 5, the additional Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Goa has referred the matter to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Goa Foundation in its complaint had alleged that “the contract was meant to influence elections”.
Govt response ‘not satisfactory’
The additional CEO Sunil P Masurkar in a letter to the Principal Secretary, ECI stated that the response from the Directorate of Mines and Geology of the Goa government on the matter was “not satisfactory”.
Masurkar’s letter said, “The reply filed by the Directorate of Mines and Geology is examined by this office and the same is found not satisfactory. It is observed that the mining lease deed executed by the Department though may amount to be part of the same contractual commitment, however, it is an independent agreement and since it was executed during the Model Code of Conduct period, it was binding on the part of the department to obtain prior permission of Election Commission of India, and hence contravenes 21(f) of the guidelines.”
“It is to state that though there is no transfer of ownership, there is an allocation of land by way of lease to enjoy certain rights over the land which contravenes 21(e) of the guidelines,” continued the letter from Masurkar.
The additional CEO asks the ECI for “further guidance and directions” in the letter.
NGO’s complaint
The NGO’s complaint stated that the Goa government and Vedanta Limited signed a lease deed for the Bicholim Mining Block 1 on March 22, after the MCC came into effect, and alleged that the “agreement is now being used by the government to win votes by informing voters that mining has resumed in Goa”.
The Directorate of Mines and Geology in its response to the query raised by the CEO’s office maintained that the execution of the mining lease in Vedanta’s case was not a new agreement but “a continuation of an existing contractual commitment and statutory requirement predating the MCC”.
It said that the auction process was initiated on September 30, 2022 and had to be concluded by April 12, 2024 as per the rules.
Mining operations were suspended in Goa six years ago, and this is the first auctioned mine to become operational since then.
