PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Western Bench, has issued notice to Goa government in a plea challenging the grant of environment clearance (EC) for undertaking sand mining in River Chapora.
The Goa River Sand Protection Network had moved the NGT challenging the ECs issued to the North Goa District Collector by the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (GSEIAA), dated October 12, to carry out sand mining in four zones of River Chapora, manually by traditional communities.
NGT, while admitting the appeal, issued notices to Collector North and GSEIAA, which are returnable by February 9, 2022.
The applicant, while seeking NGT intervention had said there has been no due and proper application of mind before according the ECs and pleaded that ECs be cancelled.
The appeal challenges the fact that the ECs granted are in violation of the procedures and approvals governing sand mining under the EIA Notification 2006. They have been granted without complying with mandatory requirements of the Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines of 2016 and the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines of Sand Mining, 2020.
The appeal also argues that without a District Survey Report (DSR), no EC can be even considered. The decision of GSEIAA has been taken on the basis of a report submitted by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB), which is irregular.
The applicant also pointed out that the two zones granted EC are almost adjacent to the turtle nesting site at Morjim.
In Chapora, permission has been granted for sand mining in Zone 1, in Morjim in Zone 2, Pirna in Zone 5, Ozorim in Zone 6, Agarwada in Zone 3 of Part I and Camurlim in Zone 3 of Part II and Zone 4 in Revora.
