PANJIM: Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has urged Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to grant a single Consent to Operate (CTO) for all its berths for handling of various kinds of cargo, instead of the current practice of issuing separate consent for every berth.
MPT has assured that coal will be handled only at berth No 6 and 7 and if permission is granted, then at the mooring dolphins by deploying a barge mounted mist cannon.
At a meeting GSPCB on January 11, MPT demanded a single CTO for all berths, in line with the procedure followed by State Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) of Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra. GSPCB informed them that policy guidelines need to be framed by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to streamline the issue of CTOs by different State PCBs. It was also suggested that a request from Union Ministry of Shipping can be made to MoEF in this regard.
“The suggestion of GSPCB to take up the matter with MoEF through Ministry of Shipping may not yield any results since no other ports have been facing any problems with regard to CTOs. Therefore this decision is to be taken by GSPCB to bring the procedure in line with other States,” MPT chief engineer L A Mathew said in his letter dated January 16 to the Board Chairman.
“Considering this, Board is requested to issue one consent for entire port for handling of different cargo without stipulating any berth-wise or commodity-wise limit,” the letter added.
Mathew said granting a single consent is important because cargo mix and cargo demand constantly undergoes change and the port needs to remain flexible to carry out operations.
MPT has pointed out that CTOs are issued by State PCBs under Water and Air Act and in many States, PCBs issue a single CTO for the entire port with a validity of five years. “In some States like Kerala, there is no requirement of CTO for port operations since it has been recognised that a port is a service sector and not involved in manufacturing,” the letter stated.
