Panaji, Jul 16 (IANS): Though successive governments have claimed that thousands of people have been rendered unemployed due to the Supreme Court ordered ban on mining in Goa last year, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that no survey had been conducted to ascertain how many jobs were lost due to the ban.

"No survey has been conducted to ascertain the exact number of people who have lost their jobs directly due to closure of mines in the state," Sawant said in a written reply in response to a question from Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar.

Sawant also said that the "state government is exploring all the possible alternative to resume mining".

The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa every since the Supreme Court quashed mining leases of 88 companies banning extraction and transportation of iron ore from March 16, 2018. The apex court also directed the state government to re-issue mining leases.

This is the second time in less than a decade that all mining in the state has come to a standstill.

Sawant is scheduled to travel to Delhi later this week to attend a meeting of a Group of Ministers, which has been specifically set up by Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the imbroglio.