Team Herald
PANJIM: Granting a major relief to Pilgao residents, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday cancelled transportation of iron ore during night in the village and asked the mining company to transport only 40 trucks per hour through the village as provided in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prepared by the State
government.
Dismissing the miscellaneous civil application (MCA) filed by M/s Vedanta Limited, the Court directed the mining company to submit an undertaking that it will not do any night time transportation through the village. The Court warned
that if night time transportation takes place then it will severely penalise the mining company as well any government
official monitoring the night operations.
M/s Vedanta Ltd in its MCA had prayed for an order to allow it to use the route approved in the Environment Clearance (EC) and wanted directions to the State authorities to clear all objections or to permit them to use the alternate route with the same terms and
conditions.
The Bench comprising Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita P Mehta asked the company to produce an order which allowed it to use the alternate route for transportation. The company produced an order dated December 11, 2024.
The order, written by the Directorate of Mines and Geology to the Goa State Pollution and Control Board (GSPCB), stated that the government was allowing transportation of 40 trucks per hour and not 254 truck per hour and transportation of 50 trucks per hour during night. However, the Court cancelled the transportation during night time.
After the hearing, senior Adv Norma Alvares, who argued on behalf of the Pilgao villagers, said that the High Court declined to interfere in the matter in view of the judgment passed in June last year while hearing a PIL writ petition filed by the Mulakh Khajan Farmers Association and Goa Foundation.
Adv Alvares said, “I feel that we have succeeded because the mining company cannot transport ore during night absolutely and during day time the order is to transport only 40 trucks per hour and not 254 trucks per hour.”