Team Herald
PANJIM: Pursuant to a petition that had been filed by the Cavelossim Villagers Forum (CVF) in connection to the proposed training wall at the mouth of the River Sal and extending into the Arabian Sea, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued directions to the State Government that an Environment Clearance (EC) has to be secured before executing the project.
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The NGT also directed the Goa State Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), to put a condition in its order for restoration of the land to be complied with.
Adv Nigel Da Costa Frias, who was representing the petitioner, argued that the expansion of the project falls under Schedule to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006 notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). This meant the project requires EIA from the State Level EIA Authority (SEIAA).
The petitioner had earlier argued that no EC for the project had been obtained either from MoEF or GCZMA.
The NGT bench noted that the State Fisheries Department had filed an affidavit on January 1, 2018 before the tribunal, acknowledging that fact that the EIA notification is applicable to the project. The bench also pointed out that the Fisheries Department’s counsel had not disputed this legal position.
“Since implementation of the said projects, i.e. expansion of Cutbona Jetty and construction of training wall was started without permission from the GCZMA and without any prior environment clearance under the EIA notification 2006, the said project was stopped otherwise would have resulted into gross violation of CRZ regulations, environment pollution and most importantly in environmental degradation in the village of Cavelossim,” said CVF.
“Training walls have been of severe negative impact on the environment including accretion of sand on the up-drifts side with a consequent erosion of sand on the down drift side. There have always been chronic sand erosions wherever training walls are constructed. Such projects need a detailed environment impact assessment study before they are implemented,” CVF added.
