SHWETA KAMAT
shweta@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: It was not just Sonshi, but five other clusters with 20 operational iron ore mines, have been found to be causing dust pollution in their areas due to mining activities including transportation of ore. Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has declined to renew the consent to operate of the mines located in these clusters, sans a bank guarantee assuring ‘no pollution’.
The five clusters include – Codli, Dharbandora, Suctolim, Sirgao and Usgao. The ambient air monitoring stations located in these clusters indicated PM10 (dust pollution) exceeding its limit for the months of October 2016 to March 2017.
The mining firms have been asked to accept responsibility of cluster standards being breached during the period.
The Sonshi cluster with 13 mining leases was found to be the most polluted during the season – which led to suspension of mining operations in the area.
Clustering is done on two organising principles that are shared boundaries and evacuation routes. Each mine has a monitoring station in the core and in the buffer zone.
The Board revealed that even under the National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP), the five clusters showed a regular increase in permissible limits (PM10) from October 2016 to March 2017. However, the levels recorded were within permissible limit from mid April to mid-May.
“The data indicates PM 10 (dust pollution) exceeds the permissible limit at Amona, Assnora, Bicholim, Codli, Curchorem, Honda, Sanguem, Tilamol, Quepem and Usgao,” the NAMP data revealed.
“Having considered the NAMP data that there was a default by the mining companies in maintaining ambient air quality monitoring (AAQM) within permissible limits as exceedence in AAQM was manifest in the monitoring station within the buffer zones of the mines,” the Board stated.
GSPCB said that Sonshi cluster caused excessive air pollution as reported in the AAQM report and therefore there was clear default on the part of the mining companies to maintain the ambient air quality within permissible limit.
