Shah Commission unlikely to present report into Goa mining scam by end of October

The Justice M B Shah Commission, probing the illegal mining scam in Goa, is unlikely to complete its investigations by the end of this month, as it still has to examine a lot of documents.

The commission was set up by the central government to look into the multi-billion-rupee scam relating to illegal iron ore mining in Goa. The commission began its probe in September and was to submit its report within a month or two.

However, U V Singh, a senior member of the commission, said no deadline has been set for the commission. ''As soon as we finish, we will submit the report,'' he said. The commission members have already inspected 90 operational mines and 30 non-operational ones in Goa.

According to Singh, the commission has been able to deal with just three of the 10 parameters of the probe. ''We have to collect data from many departments,'' said Singh.

''We will have to analyse the data after consulting relevant experts who are in our team.'' He pointed out the issue was complicated because of the presence of a different set of laws relating to community land.

Singh said former chairman of the state assembly's public accounts committee (PAC), Manohar Parrikar, had also provided certain documents.