Speaking to media persons after the board meeting on Friday at which the decision was taken, GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha confirmed the decision stating that this would be informed to the project proponents. “The board in its meeting held on March 12, had resolved to direct the environment department to carry out the carrying capacity of all the rivers in Goa and water bodies,” he said.
Noronha said that during the previous meeting it was decided to stall granting any new permission for construction of jetties, marinas, houseboats, etc. He said that The Environment Department is in the process of floating an expression of interest in this regard.
“The carrying capacity study is important to plan the optimal number of projects which can be based in a river basin,” he said. The study will include the base-line study of water quality, contamination of water, impact on river body due to existing facilities and what will be the likely impact of new projects.
In October last year, the board had rejected the application of Yacht Haven Goa Marina for the Rs 100 crore marina project under the Air and Water Pollution Acts.
The company had reapplied before the board last month, seeking consent to establish and operate the marina at Sancoale. The application was moved following ‘in principle’ approval from the Goa Investment Promotion Board headed by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Goa State Biodiversity Board on Monday had conducted an inspection of the site and had reiterated that the ‘site is rich in biodiversity’.
