PANAJI
The Congress on Friday criticised the environmental clearance granted to the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) for expansion of its berths alleging that it is yet another indicator of the plans to turn Goa into a coal hub.
Congress leader Viriato Fernandes alleged that the government, both in the State and at the Centre, is bending backwards to support the plans of the Adani group to raise the quantum of its coal imports from its Australian Charmichael coal mines.
“It is clear proof that what Goa’s environmentalists and activists had been saying all along, that a coal hub is being planned to cater to the needs of steel plants in Karnataka and some of Maharashtra, is true,” Fernandes said while addressing the media.
“We all know the links between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani. This environment clearance is a fallout of that connection,” Fernandes said.
The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had earlier last month communicated to the MPA the clearances, both environment and CRZ, for its projects to redevelop berths 8 and 9 besides its barge berth.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEF&CC had recommended the project for environmental clearance back in 2020, more than two years after MPA had moved for the nod.
The project is estimated to cost a whopping Rs 1,145.36 crore and will enhance the collective cargo handling capacity of these berths from the current 13 mtpa to 19.5 mtpa.
MPA will however have to seek ‘consent to establish’ under the ‘Air and Water Act’ from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) before commencing work on the project.
Pollution due to the handling of coal at the port, which has increased consistently ever since iron ore mining took a hit, has been a major issue raised by environmentalists and activists against the MPA.
Fear of increase in coal imports through MPA will result in the creation of a coal transportation corridor between Mormugao and north Karnataka in fact is the prime reason behind the agitations against the linear projects, particularly the railway double-tracking and the national highway expansion, over the last several years.
