Team Herald
PANJIM/VASCO: The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF&CC) has deferred the decision on the proposed expansion of coal handling facility at Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) by South West Port Ltd (SWPL), observing that the concerns raised during the public hearing conducted by Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) were not addressed satisfactorily.
This comes as a major boost to the anti-coal activists in the State, who have been opposing the expansion project.
The EAC had initially taken up the proposal for consideration at its meeting in August. EAC, which has now deferred the decision on the project, has sought point-wise details of the concerns raised during public hearing as the committee noted that the issues have not been addressed satisfactorily.
SWPL had approached EAC seeking environmental clearance (EC) for its proposed project of capacity enhancement at Berth 5A-6A MPT to 14-15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). GSPCB had conducted public hearings of the proposed project in May 2017.
EAC has also received a letter from the Goa Government informing it that at the public hearing, there was serious opposition and objection to the proposed increase in handling of coal as the present handling is causing air pollution in the Vasco city.
The State further informed that the Air Quality Monitoring reports of GSPC indicate that particulate matter exceeds the prescribed limits for the present handling capacity and that GSPCB has already directed SWPL to reduce its present handling capacity by 25 percent.
The project has already received clearance from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).
SWPL in its proposal said that the expansion project will help in overall reduction in pollution level. “Due to intensification in port area usage, more traffic will be possible from the same berth and backup infrastructure leading to better throughput of SWPL and of MPT, there will be increase in efficiency of cargo handling. Local people will be benefited through company’s CSR activities. The project will generate primary, secondary and tertiary employment. MPT will be benefitted by means of increase in revenue from SWPL,” the project proposal stated.
