Panaji, Feb 24 (IANS) Worried over rising incidents of illegal mining in the state, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has demanded life imprisonment for those found guilty.

In its annual pre-budget suggestion to Goa Chief Minister and Finance Minister Digambar Kamat, GCCI president Cesar Menezes said: 'Illegal mining is creating huge and irreparable damage to the state's ecology.

'Illegal mining should be stopped forthwith with legal provisions for stringent punishment, including life imprisonment for all those involved in illegal mining,' Menezes said in his letter to the chief minister Tuesday.

The GCCI president also said the state was losing huge revenues on account of illegal mining.

Menezes' concerns find echo in a recent statement issued by the Goa Mineral and Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA), which said that 'unscrupulous elements were carrying out illegal mining without even having mining leases in their name'.

The GMOEA represents the Rs.6,000 crore mining industry in Goa, which exports nearly 33 million tonnes of ore annually.

Leader of the opposition Manohar Parrikar has already alleged that nearly 18 percent of the ore exported from Goa is illegal.

Recently, Parrikar has also claimed that several cabinet ministers in the Congress-led coalition government ran illegal mining operations near wildlife sanctuaries in Goa's hinterland.

Taking note of ecological damage and public outcry caused by haphazard mining in Goa,

union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh Monday ordered a 'moratorium on consideration of mining proposals for environmental clearance' from the state, until the Goa government declared its own comprehensive mining policy.