Panaji, Oct 5 (IANS): Irregular and illegal mining are one and the same, according to the Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) report on illegal mining submitted Wednesday to the speaker of the Goa legislative assembly.

The PAC's critique bringing irregular mining on par with illegal mining comes in the wake of ruling politicians as well as a mining industry spokesperson claiming that the multi-thousand crore-rupee mining industry in Goa was often irregular in its operation, but rarely illegal.

"The term irregular mining is nothing but illegal mining… There is a complete breakdown of all machineries provided by the statute which are required to ensure that mining is undertaken and carried out in a legally permissible manner," the PAC report states, official sources said.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhash Shirodkar, while admitting he was involved in the mining transportation trade, said last month that there was no "illegal mining in Goa".

"There is a vast difference between irregularities and illegalities," Shirodkar said, even as the Supreme Court-appointed Justice M.B. Shah Commission was in Goa to probe illegal mining.

"In a lot of cases in Goa, mining is irregular. Please do not confuse it with illegal mining," said Goa Mineral Ore Exporters' Association spokesperson Madhukar Mallya.

"Irregular mining in Goa is merely a case of minor technical errors during ore extraction, which could be compared to a traffic fine issued for over speeding," he added.

Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde said that there was no difference between irregular and illegal mining.

"There is no difference between illegal or irregular mining. In both cases, there is cheating," said Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge.

Goa has exported nearly 54 million tonnes of iron ore in the last fiscal out of which nearly 7 million tonnes is allegedly ore extracted illegally.