PANJIM: The Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has written to Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), with a copy to the CM, urging a review of the decision to suspend the consent to operate granted to SWPL, claiming the order would have serious ramifications, even leading to laying off employees due to possible financial loss.
“The decision of GSPCB to withdraw the Consent to Operate at Berths 5A and 6A is unfortunate and will have serious ramifications. Already 12 ships are on the voyage towards MPT and it is feared that they may be diverted; in such an eventuality, the private ports on east coast will get benefitted at the cost of government port,” MPT Chairman I Jeyakumar said in the letter to the GSPCB Chairman.
As per their reports, Berths 5A and 6A account for 58 percent of the cargo handled at MPT and withdrawal of consent will result in huge financial loss.
Jeyakumar stated that the port has to support 1750 employees and 4300 pensioners. “The annual outgo on this account is Rs 250 crore. With the stoppage of coal operations at the two berths, for the current year, the port will end up with deficit income of Rs 92 crore. In the next year, the loss will be more than Rs 190 crore,” he said warning that various ancillary industries will also be adversely affected which supports indirect employment and there will be a cascading effect.
“With such losses, the Port will have no choice but to go for large scale layoff of employees and defer the payments to them which is not desirable from the point of public interest,” the letter adds.
The MPT Chairman has also pointed out that air monitoring data is within the prescribed limits and the port as well as other stakeholders are making efforts to contain the dust pollution within the prescribed limits. He added that stipulating quantity for individual berths rather than total capacity is unscientific and misleading.
“In many reports GSPCB compares source data with ambient standards which is also misleading the public resulting in misplaced perception among the public at large. In such a scenario, revoking the consent to operate citing reasons that the terminal has exceeded the cargo limits is an extreme step taken by GSPCB even though there is no adverse impact on environment,” the letter said, requesting a review of the decision and ‘condone the alleged exceedance as the CAAQM readings are within the limits and cumulative port capacity has not been exceeded.
