Team Herald
PANJIM: Iron ore mining activities at Sonshi in Sattari will remain at a halt till May 13, as the meeting called by Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to decide on consent to operate of 12 mining leases on Friday, was deferred.
Mining activities at Sonshi have been shut down since April 28, after GSPCB declined to grant consent to operate to 12 of the 13 mining leases operational there, after it observed that the activity at the leases was leading to dust pollution in the vicinity.
The Board, met under the chairmanship of Dharmendra Sharma, who is also Chief Secretary, on Friday afternoon, wherein it, as well as mining firms, failed to provide the required air monitoring data.
“The situation will remain as it is till May 13. We have deferred the meeting till that date,” Sharma told media persons after the meeting.
The Board was supposed to decide on the consent during the last meeting held on May 3, however, they were not satisfied with the reply from the mining firms.
The mining firms had made presentations on various measures they intend to initiate to curb air pollution in the village and the surrounding area. The Board decided to examine the situation before granting consent to operate to the leases. The Board has recently installed a full-fledged ambient air monitoring station at Sonshi.
