Team Herald
PORVORIM: Water Resource Minister Dayanand Mandrekar on Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that casinos cannot be taken in river Chapora. H said there was no hidden agenda to accommodate casinos in the river and that the depth of the river is not enough to anchor such vessels.
He said that despite taking necessary permission from all departments the water front project has been trapped in legal tangles. He informed the House that permissions from all agencies including GCZMA, CoP, Panchayat, Comunidade, Environment etc have been taken.
“However, we have submitted all the documents to the National Green Tribunal and we will get a favorable order,” Mandrekar said.
He said it is a government approved project and no Siolim resident is opposing it. Speaking on the Tillari canal project, he said that 90% of the work has been completed and rest is pending because of land acquisition which will be completed before 2017.
He said the government has spent Rs 6 crore on River Sal which flows through five constituencies in Salcete.
