From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Mar 29: After earning historic amount in the form of mining royalty for this fiscal, the state government has predicted the drop by almost 20 per cent in the royalty amount for the financial year (FY) 2011-12.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat told the state legislative assembly that for FY 2010-11, Rs 850 crore was fetched as the royalty on the ore export from state’s two different ports – Mormugao Port Trust and Panaji Minor port.

Kamat, who also holds mining portfolio, projected that the royalty will be dipped to Rs 700 crore approximately for the FY 2011-12.

The analysts have opined that a 300 per cent hike in the export duty coupled with fluctuating prices for low grade ore will eat into the profit margins resulting in the drop in royalty collection.

Goa which has 105 operational mining leases exported 45 million metric tones of ore for the current fiscal. State’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with few congress legislators are cornering the state government over rampant and illegal mining activity at the cost of environment in the state.

In a written reply on the floor of the house, Kamat conceded that `presently no assessment has been done in respect of damage caused to environment.’