GRE Joint General Secretary Olencio Simoes, in a statement, said, “The government that we elect acts as an agent of corruption. Therefore, our only hope is the judiciary.”
He accused the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (IA Division) and its scientist Yogendra Pal Singh of committing a fraud by exempting public consultation on the dredging on false ground that the same was for maintenance and not capital dredging.
Simoes also alleged that fake environmental clearance was granted to the MPT for the dredging.
He criticised Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar for not acting on the repeated complaints against dreding. “This shows that the state administration was hand in glove with MPT,” he claimed.
Simoes demanded the resignation of Parsekar for having failed to control all his portfolios and “cheating the fishermen.”
Olencio said that the government was going all-out to displace the traditional fishermen of Goa by bring different types of projects which is against the interest of the fishermen.
Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owners Co-op Society Ltd President Custodio D’Souza warned that fishermen of Goa “will not tolerate any form of expansion at Mormugao Port.” He demanded immediate end to any forms of expansion of MPT “or else the fishermen will disrupt the port activities and will shut it down by launching state wide agitation.”
