Panaji, April 22 -- Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday announced the approval of extension of 'debt relief scheme for mining affected borrowers of financial institution' until 2027.

"There are still some who are yet to apply for the scheme. For their benefit we are granting an extension till 2027," said CM Sawant.

The scheme first notified in September 2014, offered 35% subsidy on loan settlement from financial institutions to assist stakeholders including truck, machinery, and barge owners who were impacted by the Supreme Court ban on illegal mining in 2012 following the Justice MB Shah report on illegal mining of iron ore and manganese.

The scheme was initially notified for six months but has since been extended repeatedly...