Fishermen from Mormugao had approached NGT challenging the dredging by the port trust claiming it is affecting traditional fishing activities.
Addressing the media on Monday, AAP spokesperson Olencio Simoes, who is also a joint general secretary of GRE and secretary of National Fisher Workers Forum, said MPT was illegally dredging the canal. He said MoEF had given approval for maintenance dredging and not for capital dredging. Simoes said MPT was not conducting maintenance dredging but undertaking capital dredging illegally.
“We had met Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and told him that a public consultation was necessary when capital dredging is being done but there was no reply from him and this forced us to approach NGT,” Simoes said.
He said that the CM and Environment Minister had not acted even after repeated complaints. “It shows that the State administration was hand-in-glove in terms of the illegalities,” he added.
GRE was to submit a 42-point memorandum to the Chief Minister with pending demands of the fishermen community. Simoes said there can be a law and order situation in the fishermen areas if the demands made in the memorandum are not fulfilled on priority.
AAP has been closely following fishermen issues across the State ahead of the Legislative polls. The party has given the fishermen community a base to raise their issues and grievances.
