The Mormugao Port Au thority (MPA) has clarified that it handled 9.76 million tonnes (MT) of coal in 2024-25 and 5.19 MT be tween April and September 2025, all within the permissible limits prescribed by the Goa State Pollu tion Control Board (GSPCB). The clarification came in re sponse to a claim by social scientist Dr Jorson Fernandes, quoted in an O Heraldo report, that 136 million tonnes of coal would be handled at the port. M Sankar Babu, Secretary of MPA, described the figure as “ab solutely false and misleading”. “The port handled only 9.76 MT in 2024-25 and 5.19 MT in 2025-26 (April–September), strictly within the limits set by the GSPCB,” Babu said, in a note. He explained that traffic projec tions for coal and thermal coal under the Sagarmala plan are much lower. “As per Sagarmala, the basic scenar io for thermal coal (unloading) is 3.4 MT, and in an optimistic scenario, 3.6 MT for 2025. For 2035, it rises modestly to 5.7 MT (basic) and 6.4 MT (optimistic),” Babu added. For coking coal, the projection is 19 MT (basic) and 21 MT (optimis tic) in 2025, rising to 34 MT and 40 MT respectively by 2035. He added that coke handling stands at 1.3 MT in the basic scenario and 1.4 MT in the optimistic scenario, with projec tions of 2.1 MT and 2.6 MT by 2035. According to the MPA’s latest ap proved Master Plan, coal traffic pro jections for 2025-26 are 19.21 MT under a realistic scenario, 11.45 MT under a pessimistic scenario, and 22.91 MT under an optimistic sce nario. “The coal cargo projections are as per the approved plans, and there is no proposal for creating new coal-handling infrastructure at Berths 5, 6, and 7,” the MPA clari fied, adding that coal cargo volumes are expected to decline after 2030.
The authority maintained that coal and coke traffic han dled in recent years has remained within permissible lim its. Ambient air quality is regularly monitored by the GSPCB, and according to the data, air quality levels are within pre scribed standards. “Closed dome-shaped structures have been provided at the port to control pollution through sci entific methods, leaving no scope for doubts or environ mental damage,” Babu added. Coal and coke handled at the port during 2024-25 to talled 9.76 MT, down from 10.64 MT in 2023-24, while combined coal, thermal coal, and other (CTO) cargo han dled in 2024-25 was 11.30 MT, marginally higher than 11.20 MT in 2023-24, the statement reiterated.
