Fearing that the closure of mines might lead to suicides in the iron ore rich belt of the state, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today announced a series of meetings with stakeholders to mitigate problems arising out of stopping mining activities.

He told reporters in Panaji that he will meet all stakeholders including barge ship owners' associations, truck owners' associations, exporters, mine owners and banks to mitigate the problem arising out of the closure of mines.

"No one needs to fear any suicide. The government will take care to solve problems that might arise due to crackdown on illegal mining. The government will not allow a Vidarbha-like situation here," he said.

The state government has estimated that truck owners and barge owners owe around Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore to various banks in the mining belt.

Parrikar said that banks might have to reschedule the loans. The government will also ask banks to submit details of outstanding amounts by truck and barge owners.

He said that around 50 percent to 60 percent of mining leases in the state could be working legally, conceding that the state government does not have exact data on the number of mining leases operating illegally.

The government has set a deadline of September 21 for mine owners to file details of the ore stocked on mining sites, yards or jetties to the directorate of mines and geology.

Export would be permitted from the first week of October, based on transport challans issued by the mines department, he said.

The state government is also forming a screening committee to scrutinise documents submitted by mining lease holders, before allowing them to go ahead with the fresh extraction.