Panaji: The Goa legislative assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar, probing the state's illegal mining, has linked only one politician to the Rs35 billion (Dh2.6 billion) scandal but not Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, sources said yesterday.
Operative portions of the report leaked to the media named neither Kamat, who has been heading the mining portfolio for the last twelve years, nor ministers Joaquim Alemao and Vishwajeet Rane, who have been named by Parrikar at other forums as being involved in illegal mining.
"How much involvement of various politicians does exist, what is the illegality quantum, can only be brought to light if a criminal investigation is conducted," a source said, adding the PAC report had asked for a CBI probe into the scandal.
Reasonable doubt
"Whatever I know from media reports is that [a] PAC report does not carry the name of the Goa chief minister. I can assure you that the Goa government is not involved in it," federal Mines Minister Dinsha Patel told a TV channel in New Delhi. According to official sources, the PAC report is however indicative of the involvement of politicians in the scandal on the basis of ‘reasonable doubt'.
"Reasonable doubt prevails that influential politicians including ministers... are deeply involved," it stated. It also mentions former Nationalist Congress Party national secretary Jitendra Deshprabhu, arrested by the Goa Crime Branch for his involvement in illegal mining, said a source.
The report stated: "The Goa government and politicians in power are squarely responsible for such environmental degradation being presently undertaken by illegal mining operations."
Operative portions of the report leaked to the media named neither Kamat, who has been heading the mining portfolio for the last twelve years, nor ministers Joaquim Alemao and Vishwajeet Rane, who have been named by Parrikar at other forums as being involved in illegal mining.
"How much involvement of various politicians does exist, what is the illegality quantum, can only be brought to light if a criminal investigation is conducted," a source said, adding the PAC report had asked for a CBI probe into the scandal.
Reasonable doubt
"Whatever I know from media reports is that [a] PAC report does not carry the name of the Goa chief minister. I can assure you that the Goa government is not involved in it," federal Mines Minister Dinsha Patel told a TV channel in New Delhi. According to official sources, the PAC report is however indicative of the involvement of politicians in the scandal on the basis of ‘reasonable doubt'.
"Reasonable doubt prevails that influential politicians including ministers... are deeply involved," it stated. It also mentions former Nationalist Congress Party national secretary Jitendra Deshprabhu, arrested by the Goa Crime Branch for his involvement in illegal mining, said a source.
The report stated: "The Goa government and politicians in power are squarely responsible for such environmental degradation being presently undertaken by illegal mining operations."
