PANAJI: Another mining season may end without seeing any mining activity in the state, as the state pollution control board requires at least three months to give mining companies consent to operate under Air Act and Water Act to resume operations.

Mining season in the state extends from October to the last week May. Mining activities in the state came to a halt in September 2012, following the tabling of the Shah Commission report on illegal mining in the Parliament.

Speaking to TOI, Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB) chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that they have asked the mining companies to submit three documents before initiating the process to grant them consent to operate under Air Act and Water Act. "The whole process to grant consent to operate for mining companies will take at least 90 days," he said.

The three documents are lease agreement copy signed between lease holder and directorate of mines and geology, mining surface plan approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines and environmental clearance (EC) issued by ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

Stating that out of the 89 mining companies whose leases are renewed by the state government, most of them have applied for consent, Noronha said that the above documents would be scrutinized by the technical advisory committee of the GSPCB.

Noronha said that after the scrutiny of documents, scientific and technical staff of board will inspect the site and submit a report. After that the board will convene a board meeting to take a final decision whether to grant the consent to operate or not. After granting consent, the board will install ambient air quality monitoring station at all the mines. Out of 89 mining leases renewed by the state government, only 61 mining leases have been allowed to extract iron ore, on a pro rata basis to fit into the 20 million tonne capping for iron ore extraction, fixed by the Supreme Court.

The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC, former known as MoEF) has put tough conditions for granting consent to operate under Air Act and Water Act. MoEFCC director V P Upadhyay in an office memorandum to GSPCB has asked it to adhere all the terms and conditions laid down by the MoEFCC while granting the consent to operate.