TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The opponents of Mopa Greenfield International airport, on Tuesday accused the BJP-led government of conducting an illegal environment impact assessment (EIA) study and public hearing on the airport project. Demanding a fresh EIA, the opponents said the EIA was conducted after the expiry of the Terms of Reference (ToR) period issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).
The group christened ‘Federation of Rainbow Warriors’ (FRW) alleged that the ToR, which was granted in 2011 and extended in 2013, expired on May 31, 2014, while the EIA study by Engineers India Limited was completed months later, in October 2014, and the public hearing on the EIA was held eight months later on February 1, 2015.
The two components of FRW – Mopa Pidit Xetkari Samiti from the North and Goans for Dabolim Only, from the South – have come on a common platform to expose this illegality and demand a fresh EIA study and public hearing on the ambitious Rs 3,000 crore project.
The anti-Mopa crusaders have also demanded the suspension of North Goa collector, Director of Airport, Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Member Secretary and Chairman and the initiation of disciplinary action against all these.
A memorandum in this regard was submitted to the Chief Secretary Tuesday morning.
However, sources indicate that the State government has made a fresh application before MoEF for extension of validity of ToR for development of the airport.
The North Goa collectorate refused to comment on the issue saying that the matter is with the pollution control board and the Directorate of Civil Aviation.
Goa State Pollution Control Board Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that the GSPCB has no role to play in the hearing on EIA, except that they have to provide the necessary logistical support for the same. “We have a limited role to play in it,” he claimed.
Noronha also said that the role of GSPCB comes once the EC is granted as the project proponent will have to apply for Consents to Establish and Operate.
Addressing media, FRW general secretary Abhijit Prabhudesai said that as per the ToR the validity to conduct the EIA expired in May 2014, but despite this the GSPCB and district administration conducted the hearing illegally. FRW has demanded a high-level independent inquiry into the matter.
According to the NGO, the ToR for the project was granted on June 1, 2011 for the development of the airport. On November 22, 2012, proponent wrote to MoEF seeking extension of validity of ToR and the same was granted on June 19, 2013 with a validity up to May 31, 2014. According to FRW, ‘Extension of validity of ToRs beyond the outer limit of three years for all projects or activities shall not be considered by the Regulatory Authority’.
FRW also argued that as per the MoEF amended notification issued on August 22, 2014, all the State pollution control boards have to ensure that the public hearings are conducted within 54 days as prescribed in the 2006 EIA notification.
The pollution control board has to also ensure that hearings are held within the validity period of the ToRs and that no hearings are held after the validity period expires. Noronha said that board was not aware about the August notification.
According to the NGO the notification states, “The public hearings conducted after the expiry of the ToRs shall not be accepted by the Regulatory Authority for appraisal.”
