MARGAO: Hailing the decision of Supreme Court suspending the environmental clearance issued by the MoEF to the proposed Mopa Airport project, Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) has once again demanded scrapping of the project and returning the land to the people.
“There is no doubt that the SC order has struck a significant blow (to Mopa project and in favour of) of sustainable development. It is a clear vindication of the concerns expressed by citizens groups right from the time of the so called public hearing set up to give validity to the unacceptably casual, shoddy and shallowly constructed document being brazenly passed off as an EIA by Engineers India Ltd. Shockingly, this document did not even remotely reflect the ground realities that prevailed on the Mopa plateau and its surroundings,” Eremito Rebello of GFDO said.
Capt Viriato Fernandes said, “The statements made by the then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and others were (done with) ulterior motives. This PPP project is a ‘private politician partnership,’” he said.
He further said that the Mopa airport would ultimately face the fate of Meta strips which was shut down after two years of agitation.
The GFDO has also alleged that a huge conspiracy is being played to defraud the people of Mopa.
