Team Herald
MARGAO: The Save Mollem group has expressed hope that the government will not grant permission to handle iron ore at Kalem Railway Station within the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, as a critical meeting of the Goa State Board for Wildlife approaches on March 20. The board, chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, is set to discuss several agenda items, including a controversial proposal submitted by South Western Railways and Vedanta Ltd.
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The proposal seeks approval for unloading and transporting iron ore from Karnataka at the Kalem Railway Station, which environmental activists emphasize lies firmly within the sanctuary boundaries. This fact was officially acknowledged by the Chief Wildlife Warden in a letter dated April 4, 2024, strengthening the activists’ position that such activities would directly impact protected land.
According to the Save Mollem group, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary along with Mollem National Park constitutes Goa’s oldest and largest Protected Area, spanning 240 square kilometres. The area is part of the Western Ghats, recognized globally as a biodiversity hotspot. Environmentalists estimate that approximately 16,000 species inhabit this protected region, many of which have global significance and play crucial ecological roles that benefit the people of Goa.
The activists argue that using sanctuary land for commercial activities like transporting ore would violate Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. They warn that such operations would cause significant ecological disruption through various forms of pollution. “Such disturbance to the Protected Area will deeply impact the ecology of this place, with risks of noise, air and water pollution,” noted the group in their statement.
With the meeting scheduled for Thursday, Save Mollem has launched an urgent public campaign, calling on citizens to immediately contact members of the wildlife board. They have circulated an email template urging authorities to reject the proposal, stating that handling and transportation of mineral ores “will have devastating long-term effects in Goa’s largest protected area.”
The Goa State Board for Wildlife consists of 31 members, including representatives from State and central government departments as well as environmental NGOs. The Save Mollem group has publicly shared email addresses for key officials, including the Chief Minister, forest department officials, tourism authorities, and police representatives, facilitating public participation in their campaign.
