The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is on the verge of alienating the people of Goa completely, by taking what apparently seems an extremely anti-people decision of permitting the MPT to enhance its coal handling capacity as part of the proposed Terminal Capacity Enhancement at Berth 5A-6A of Mormugao Port Trust.
It has not been lost on anyone that the GCZMA has actually defied Chief Minister Parrikar who wrote to the MOEF asking it not to allow the South West Port Limited (SWPL) which provides logistical support to the JSW Steel plant at Vijaynagar, Karnataka, to increase its coal handling capacity, till the level of particulate matter in Vasco was within stipulated standards.
The GCZMA, has taken the view that pollution control does not fall within its purview and has gone ahead and cleared the proposal to increase the coal handling capacity of SWPL, without for once taking into consideration that this enhancement will lead to a pollution disaster in the Port town. Instead, in a fine touch of official babudom, it took the view that since pollution falls under the purview of the Pollution Control Board, the GCZMA could afford to turn a total blind eye to the issue. It is this approach which is uncalled for.
Therefore it is not without surprise that the people of Vasco have reacted with shock and anger. And it is not just them but the people from all over Goa who attended the public hearings and spoke vociferously against the expansion of coal handling facilities, unless pollution levels were brought down. The hearings were held for the following projects:
-The terminal capacity expansion of two berths at MPT run by Jindal’s South West Port Ltd, (Berth 5 A and 6 A) which plans to double its coal imports to 14 million tonnes (MT) per year.
– The dredging project involving removal of sediments to create a enhanced navigational channel so that large cargo vessels could reach the port.
– Expansion of three more berths for coal and other cargo imports by Adani and Vedanta
Speaking in the Assembly on August 1, this year, Chief Minister Parrikar had said “We will see that coal pollution is brought under control in Vasco. How it is achieved is their (those using the facility) lookout. We will have a meeting with MPT and others.” He also said that he would take up the issue of pollution at Mormugao port with the Ministry of Shipping, which he presumably has.
The Chief Minister had gone further. He announced that the Goa Pollution Control Board had initiated a prosecution process against MPT and the two companies handling coal at the berths, for exceeding the pollution limits. The two companies are the Adani Mormugao Port and Private Ltd and South West Port Ltd, the latter being a JSW infrastructure company, two of the largest and powerful conglomerates in the country.
It is indeed intriguing then, that the GCZMA, which is not an isolated entity but linked very closely to department of Environment, has moved in a direction which is contrary to the state’s position that increase in coal handling will lead to enhanced pollution levels. This is a very real and clear apprehension. How can the GCZMA divorce itself from this reality and take refuge under technicalities like the issue of pollution comes under the Pollution Control Board?
But the GCZMA will not get away lightly with this decision. People’s anger which rose to the brim during the public hearings, is surfacing again. The NGO, Goa Against Coal (GAC) has called for a meeting to decide its future course of since the matter is pending before Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Department on Environment.
The GCZMA must withdraw its consent for expansion of the coal handling capacity at MPT introspect about its anti people and unprincipled decision. The government also needs to ensure that its much welcomed stand of not allowing expansion without pollution being controlled, is respected by authorities and bodies whose primary duty is to protect Goa’s environment, whether in the coast or inland.
