KARSTEN MIRANDA
MARGAO: The Regional Empowered Committee (REC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has postponed its decision on granting forest clearance for the controversial Mollem railway doubling project. The proposal, submitted by the Goa government and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), remains in limbo due to environmental concerns.
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During a meeting on Wednesday, the committee reviewed the request but opted to seek further clarification before making a determination. “The proposal was discussed, but additional information is needed from the project proponents before a decision can be reached,” an official familiar with the proceedings said on condition of anonymity.
The Goa government has petitioned the REC’s Bangalore office to revoke an abeyance order that has stalled the diversion of 15.6 hectares of forest land along the Kulem-Kalem railway stretch in North Goa. The request aims to facilitate the transfer of land to South Western Railway and RVNL, a critical step for advancing the long-disputed expansion project.
The rail doubling initiative, spanning the Tinaighat (Karnataka) to Vasco da Gama (Goa) route, suffered a major setback in 2022 when the Supreme Court revoked its wildlife clearances. This decision followed recommendations from the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which highlighted the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghats, a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot and vital wildlife corridor. Ahead of the REC meeting, environmentalists and scientists submitted a representation urging the committee to uphold the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“This project represents an inefficient use of resources and poses significant socio-ecological risks with marginal benefits. The REC must adhere to the Supreme Court’s directive and reject the proposal outright,” they stated.
While the Supreme Court’s ruling canceled previous approvals, it allowed for reconsideration if the Railways submitted a revised proposal to the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), including a comprehensive assessment of biodiversity and ecological impacts. In response, the Wildlife Institute of India conducted a fresh Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), titled Mitigation Measures for the Doubling of Railway Track Between Tinaighat (Karnataka) and Kulem (Goa), which was recently submitted to the MoEF&CC.The railway expansion, which involves constructing a second track parallel to the existing line between Mormugao Port and Karnataka’s industrial region, was initially approved by the NBWL in April 2020. However, this approval sparked widespread protests in Goa, with residents arguing that the project primarily serves to facilitate increased coal transportation from the port to steel industries in Karnataka.
RVNL, spearheading the project, maintains that the doubling of the track is essential for easing congestion in the ghat section and improving both passenger and freight movement.
“Futile Effort”: Greens, citizens slam Goa govt’s push for parallel track
MARGAO: In the wake of the Regional Empowered Committee’s (REC) decision, environmentalists express a mix of cautious optimism and continued concern over the Goa government’s persistent efforts to revive the stalled project.
The Amche Mollem (AM) Citizen group, which has been running a social media awareness campaign for the last several years on the three linear infrastructure projects, said, “We are encouraged that the REC has recognised the potential ecological destruction that the railway double tracking will have on the sensitive biodiversity of Mollem National Park by postponing it’s decision. We hope that this will result in the committee following the guidance from the Supreme Court and denying the Goa Governments request.”
Orville Dourado Rodrigues, founder of Goencho Ekvott which has been leading the campaign against double tracking in Velsao village, pointed out that the threat to biodiversity remains significant. Rodrigues emphasized that the well-studied recommendations of the CEC made up largely of technocrats in April 2021 was adopted by the Supreme Court of India in May 2022 and “in no way must be diluted.”
The traditional fishing community, represented by Olencio Simoes, General Secretary of Goenchea Raponkarancho Ekvott (GRE), reminded CM Pramod Sawant that he had promised in January 2021 not to increase coal handling at Mormugao Port Authority. Simoes highlighted the Supreme Court and CEC’s suggestion of a viable alternative for coal transportation through Krishnapatnam port, which would “prevent the degradation of the Western Ghats” and listed the extensive infrastructure for the project, which would need 51.48 hectares of land and include “seven major and 74 minor bridges and 23 tunnels.”
