Team Herald
panjim: After dashing Goa’s hopes on the Mhadei issue, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Prakash Javdekar granted environment approval for the Greenfield airport at Mopa.
Sources in the department of Civil Aviation said that the approval has been granted by the Environment Ministry as addendums to the original Environment Clearance (EC) as per the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgement.
“I am happy to announce that today I have given Environment Approval for Greenfield Mopa International Airport in Goa. This will pave way for overall development for the region and give boost to tourism in the State,” Javdekar tweeted.
In March 2019, SC had suspended the EC granted for the airport and had directed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to revisit the decision in light of its impact on the ecology in the area.
In January this year, the SC had vacated the stay on issuing an environment clearance to the project by MoEF.
GSPCB renews consent for airport
Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has granted extension to its consent to establish the Greenfield International Airport at Mopa under the Air and Water Act, after the project proponent failed to complete the work within the time limit.
GMR Goa International Airport Ltd had applied for renewal of the consent, after the existing consent had expired.
The Board had in 2016, granted consent to the project, whose first phase was supposed to be operational in 2020. During its recent Board meeting, members observed that the project proponent could not complete the project within the time limit and hence decided to grant the extension.
Due to the status quo order of Supreme Court of January 19, 2019 the project work was stalled and hence, it is likely to miss the September 2020 deadline for completion of the first phase of the project.
The Supreme Court vide its judgment dated January 16, 2020, however, allowed construction to resume. The revised schedule of completion is being worked out by the government.
