Panaji, Sep 3 (IANS) Stepping up his attack on the central government, Goa's BJP Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Monday said officials from the union ministry for environment and forests would be probed for allegedly abetting illegal mining in the state.
Parrikar was speaking at a function organised by journalists here.
"The officials of the MoEF gave faulty environment clearances for mines without taking into account the ground realities. They will be probed thoroughly," Parrikar said, adding that an enquiry into Goa's illegal mining scandal was already apace.
Parrikar, who is also the minister for mines, has been engaged in a running feud with the MoEF over issues related to illegal mining as well as harvesting of dumps of iron ore, more than 700 million tonnes of which dots Goa's mining belt.
While the MoEF has claimed that mining was a central subject and that the Goa government had no right to take a policy decision on mining, Parrikar has claimed the contrary.
Goa exports over 50 million tonnes of iron ore annually. Parrikar, as opposition leader, had claimed last year that one-third of Goa's mining exports were illegal.
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