Govt will support mining through cooperative society: Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Friday said mining can be done through cooperative institutes to break the monopoly of private mine owners.

"If the (cooperative) society comes ahead with a genuine demand (to take over iron ore mining), the government will back such a demand," he told reporters in Panaji.

His comments came in the backdrop of the protest in Cauvrem village in South Goa, where the locals are demonstrating against the mining activity there. They have demanded that their cooperative society should be allowed to carry out mining.

Parsekar, however, said such a cooperative society should be properly registered before it is allowed to take over mining.

"If the locals demand that the iron ore extraction activity should be conducted by the society formed by them, I think the mine owners need to support the demand," he said.

"Even the government should be supportive in this regard," he added.