Catastrophic Failure of Public Trust in Mining: Case Study of Goa

Abstract

Minerals are a commons, held by state governments in public trust for the people, especially for future generations. With mining, states dispose of minerals for money, and have so far lost more than half their value. As this study shows, over the last eight years of iron ore mining in Goa, each family of four in the state has lost the equivalent of Rs 13.51 lakh, while the average Goan private household’s assets are estimated to be Rs 10.44 lakh. This is catastrophic.

Keywords: Goa, India, Iron Ore, Mining, Public Trust Doctrine, Intergenerational Equity, Loss Rate, Government Take, AETR, IMF, World Bank, Metaphor, Constitution, Permanent Fund, Human Rights, Windfall, Mental Accounting