SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024
Team Herald
PORVORIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s comments in the Assembly that the double tracking project was not meant for coal transportation, was strongly criticised by the activists on Monday.
“The CM and many of his cabinet ministers are on record saying that coal transportation is necessary for power generation and that they will cover the wagons whilst transporting coal. Now he is just misleading the people of Goa. He should show to the people when and where the Supreme Court (SC) has permitted railways to lay the second track,” said Felix Furtado, member of Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott (GBE).
“In fact, the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC)report has very categorically mentioned that double tracking of SWR through Western Ghats should be scrapped; and that it does not benefit Goa, vis-a-vis the rampant destruction of Goa’s ecology and environment,” he added.
Furtado alleged that the CM is only repeating what his political masters from Delhi want him to utter.
Abhijit Prahudesai, co-convenor of Goyankt Kolso Naka (GKN), said: “The CM is lying that the double tracking project is not for coal transportation when the Supreme Court judgement on the railway expansion clearly speaks of it being used for coal transportation.
Prabhudesai added that the CM should the explain how the government gave Environment Clearance (EC) for Jindal’s berths at MPA for doubling their coal handling capacity and added that the State and Central government is fulling supporting MPA’s plans of using Goa’s rivers and land for coal hub infrastructure.
Vasco-based activist Xencor Polgi also criticised the CM for misleading the public about the purpose of double tracking and warned that soon Goa will become a ‘black spot’ and lose its natural beauty due to the doubling of coal pollution once the railway expansion project becomes a reality.
Reacting strongly to CM’s comments founder of Goencho Ekvott (GE), Orville Dourado Rodrigues said, “Our CM has misled the House with regards to the transportation of coal through Goa as currently over 80% of the railway traffic emanating from the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) is of coal rakes.”
Goa Foundation (GF) pointed out that the facts on the ground clearly contradicted the CM’s assertion.
“There is one clear contradiction in what he says about the project not being for coal transportation. This contradicts recent approvals granted by the Goa State Pollution Control Board permitting JSW and others to enhance import of coal supplies through Mormugao Port Authority (MPA), and new investments being made at MPA for storage of coal after it is offloaded. These investments cannot be denied,” said GF Director Claude Alvares.
He also reacted to the CM stating that the double tracking project will not affect any heritage structures.
“Houses have been damaged because of the movement of trains on the single track, so damage from double track movement is bound to create more issues,” said Alvares.
The Amche Mollem (AM) Citizen group said that the CM was downplaying the impact of the railway double tracking project.
“The CM should take note that heritage experts sent a letter to the Director of the Wildlife Institute of India on February 1st, 2023. They also recall having made multiple representations to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court (SC), which included the concerns expressed by a group of 179 architects from Goa, where they had stated that the manner and scale in which certain projects are being approved “has the potential to lead to the State's deterioration, instead of development,” said AM.
Rly double tracking not for coal transportation: sawant
PORVORIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday informed Members in Legislative Assembly that the government has stopped the railway double tracking works wherever it is banned by the Supreme Court and reiterated that double tracking was not for coal transportation.
Replying to a starred question regarding South Western Railway (SWRD) work of laying double tracks in the State, Sawant said, “The double tracking project is not meant for coal transportation. Also, whatever has been banned by Supreme Court has been stopped by the government. Nothing is being taken forward. It is not our intention to damage anybody's house and we will be going forward preserving as much as possible.”
“Whatever the Supreme Court has said to stop, it will be stopped. The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study is ongoing. But what has not been banned by the Supreme Court, work will continue in those villages,” he said, adding that the Apex Court had not stopped the ongoing work.
