Sesa seeks Goa government help to save junior academy

PANAJI: These are tough days for Sesa Sterlite, formerly known as Sesa Goa. These are tough days for Goan football too.
Started in 1962, the iconic Sesa Goa that produced influential players like Visitacao Lobo, Albino Fernandes, Mauricio, Ernest, Nicholas Pereira, Thomas Fernandes, Vishwas Gaonkar, Ashok Fadte, Prakash Naik, to name only a few, shut down its football team in 1998 when Indian football took a professional leap with the advent of National Football League.
Sesa tried its bit to qualify for the big league, and failed, but their association with football in Goa continued with the start of its residential academy in Sanquelim in 1999.
Now, even the junior academy that gave India five international players and 112 graduates is in danger of being closed down. Sesa have confirmed that its senior academy at Thivim will cease to exist at the end of the season but what is not commonly known is that the residential academy at Sanquelim -- built on reclaimed mine site -- could follow suit next year.
The Sanquelim residential academy -- one of its kind in Goa -- took a new batch of students just last year and there is general consensus among Sesa’s high-ranking officials that these youngsters need to stay at the academy for a minimum of two years. The normal batch at Sesa, since inception, is four years.
“The average cost of running the technical school and (two) football academies is Rs 6 crore (per year). Mining in Goa had been suspended from September, 2012. However, the company honoured its commitment towards the community and has continues with these institutes even during the ban period, with the hope that mining will restart soon.
“But after 30 months of stoppage, we cannot continue to just hope; we need to reduce our cost. Even if we start in the crashed market conditions, we will not have money to run these institutions,” AN Joshi, vice president (corporate affairs), Sesa Sterlite, wrote in a five-page letter to chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Sesa said the government constituted Goa Mineral Ore Permanent Fund Scheme (GMOPF) to which they have to contribute 10 per cent of the sale proceeds out of the e-auction and 10 per cent of the future sales/export price of iron ore from Goa. The amount generated would be spent through government departments in various thrust areas like health, education, livelihood infrastructure etc.
Besides, state governments have also been told to establish district mineral foundations in any district affected by mining related operations. “As per the ordinance, five per cent on the sales price (one third of royalty) needs to be contributed to the fund, which would also be spent in similar thrust areas,” the company said in the letter.
“Given the above contributions by company and present scenario where the prices of iron ore have collapsed in international markets and the export of iron ore has no longer remained a profitable business, the company is under a tremendous financial crunch and hence it will not be possible for the company to continue with its commitment to run the above institutes,” said Joshi.
Sesa wants the government to “consider the good work” being done by them and provide necessary funds for these activities.
“We request the government of Goa to allocate appropriate funds to the Sesa Community Development Foundation towards running the institutes from the contribution of GMOPF or exempt Sesa Sterlite’s spending on running of these institutes from the contribution to be made to GMOPF,” the letter states.
“In the absence of support from the government, we will be forced to close these institutions for want of funds,” the letter concludes.