AAP on MPT dredging
PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday welcomed the decision by the National Green Tribunal to halt dredging of the Mormugao Port channel and hit at the central government agencies for going ahead with the dredging without a public hearing and in violation of environmental norms.
The NGT in an order passed on September 2, halted MPTs dredging and said that the environmental clearance for the project was illegal as it was done without a public hearing and following procedures.
“The Ministry of Environment, Forest And Climate Change MOEF & CC and its scientist Yogendra Pal Singh has done a complete fraud by exempting the project from public consultation,” AAP leader and leader Olencio Simoes told media persons at a press conference on Monday.
The MoEF had exempted the project from a public consultation and in a communication to the MPT had placed the project under the maintenance dredging and exempted it from public consultation. This decision found no favour with the National Green Tribunal.
Olencio also pointed to the fact that MPT had begun dredging more than a month before the Environmental Clearance, a move which also didn’t find favour with the NGT.
“The State and its Chief Minister and Environment Minister has acted mum even after repeated complaints this shows that the State administration was hand-in-glove in terms of this illegalities,” he said.
He said the fishermen feared the dredging would aggravate sand erosion and will cause drastic morphological changes within the estuary and also lead to washing away of the entire area of Sancoale, Chicalim, Baina, Kharivaddo and even after its own state government department expressed serious apprehension.
They have demanded that the government should immediately denotify the MPT jurisdictions as promised in 2011 agitation and immediately suspend I Jayakumar, Chairman of Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) for allowing this illegal dredging even after repeated complaints.
“Old Cross fishing canoe owners co-op Society Ltd President Custodio D’Souza strongly demands that fishermen of Goa will not tolerate any form of expansion at Mormugao Port Trust (MPT)and demands to immediately stop any forms of expansion of MPT or else fishermen of Vasco and Goa will disrupt the port activities and will shut it down by having state wide agitation,” he said.
