Panaji, Oct 6 (IANS) Goa needs a financial package from the union government to make up for the revenue loss following Supreme Court's ban on iron ore mining, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Saturday.
"The state government will now demand financial support from the centre after the Supreme Court judgement. We'll demand financial assistance or a package. They've earned a lot from mining revenues from Goa," Parrikar told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
In the last fiscal, Goa earned around Rs.900 crore in royalties from the export of 43 million tonnes of iron ore while the union government earned up to Rs.4,000 crore -- a large chunk of it coming as central taxes and foreign exchange.
The Supreme Court's ban on mining in Goa for four weeks, pending a report by a central empowered committee (CEC) also appointed by the apex court, is expected to dent the coffers of the BJP-led government, which had been in a populist frenzy, after assuming power in March.
Two schemes -- Laadli Laxmi, which allows a girl to avail of Rs.1 lakh dole for marriage expenses, and Griha Laxmi Aadhar Yojana, which gives housewives Rs.1,000 a month for fight inflation, is expected to cost the treasury Rs.300 crore a year.
BJP spokesperson Wilfred Mesquita said the union government should also formulate a financial package to rehabilitate weaker sections of society who are dependent on mining.
"The government should formulate a financial package to rehabilitate the weaker sections amongst those affected by the halt to mining activity in Goa, at least till legal mining resumes," Mesquita told a press conference Saturday.
He said the BJP would ensure that the Goa government "would do everything in its command to expedite the case now pending before the highest court of the country".
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