Organisation
Organisation
The Goa Mining Association (GMA) is a Society of mine owners who have a mining concession or mining lease in the State. It was founded in 1963 by mine owner, Shri Madhavrao S Talaulikar. Using his own resources, Mr Talaulikar single-handedly ran the Association till 1987.
The main functioning of the Association is to take up policy matters with concerned authorities on behalf of mine owners and work to safeguard the interests of its members. At the time of its founding, mine owners whose interests were restricted to the domestic sector had no forum in which to express and address concerns. The Goa Mineral Ore Exporters' Association (GMOEA) was the only such Association of its kind, and it was exclusive to exporting companies.
Post GMA’s founding, Shri Madhavrao S Talaulikar filled this vacuum, representing the interests of non-exporting mine owners before the Government and statutory authorities. He attended meetings with various Committees and also liaised with officials from the Government of Goa to discuss matters related to mining.
After the Abolition Act of 1987 came into force, issues related to the transition from mining concessions to deemed mining leases came to the fore. Additionally, the long-term consequences of various new laws and legislations on mine owners needed to be clarified. This posed a whole new set of challenges and formidable detailing that led the founding member, Mr Talaulikar, to the decision of handing over the reins to a younger leadership. In order to weather the storm, it would also be necessary to change GMA’s structure and get more miners involved in its operations.
Dr. Narsinv Velingkar and Shri Madhukar Mallya took the lead, meeting with mine owners in order to convince them of the need to unite and consolidate resources. This would ensure stronger, better representation of the miner’s needs to State and Central Government authorities. It would also provide the necessary support channels to streamline understanding of, and adherence to, newly amended laws.
Leadership was handed over to Dr. Narsinv Velingkar, Shri Sunil Gharse, Shri Ashok Kudchadkar and Shri Shabbar Khan with the blessings of Shri Talaulikar. The Association membership was now extended to include all mine owners and concession holders, including exporters of iron ore. Additionally, the base of operations was shifted to the GMOEA premises at Vaglo Building, Panaji.
The first official meeting of GMA in its current avatar was held on May 5th 1993 at Vaglo Building, Panaji. Almost two decades since, the GMA continues to crusade for the interests of miners and concession holders from here.
GMA was formally registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 on 29th July 2011.