The goan network
PANAJI
The Congress on Sunday slammed the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) for granting permission to coal importers Adani Group and Jindal South West Port Limited (JSW) to restart operations at Mormugao, when the imported coal had "no use for Goa" and went directly to Karnataka.
The Congress demanded to know why permission had been re-granted after the GSPCB had revoked permission to import coal earlier in the year due to pollution caused by excessive coal handling.
Saying that this move of GSPCB looked highly suspicious because it looked as though permission was regranted just for monetary benefit, Congress spokesperson Sankalp Amonkar said, "The people of Goa look up to the GSPCB to stop pollution in the state. The Board plays an important role and the Congress demands that the Board makes these companies stop coal import altogether."
The party also said that as JSW had been given permission to handle 5.5 metric million tonnes of coal every year and was exceeding this limit by handling 9 to 10.5 metric million tonnes a year, there should have been criminal proceedings carried out against them for putting peoples' lives in danger.
Amonkar also alleged that this permission had been granted within a week of a meeting between an official of JSW, Milind Naik, MLA of Mormugao, and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar regarding the coal issue.
"We would like to know what was discussed at this meeting," said Amonkar.
Besides, Amonkar also pointed out that while the MLA had made statements that import will stop if there is pollution, he hadn't bothered to attend the public hearing that was held on the coal issue.
He also said that if any initiative was taken to stop the import of coal, all of Vasco as well as the Opposition party would come forward to support this decision.
The party also raised the issue that in the coal industry, 95% of the workers were non-Goans, so that besides facing pollution by way of excessive dust, Goans were not even benefiting from employment in the coal industry.
While Amonkar said that the party would hand over a memorandum to the GSPCB on Monday, July 9, they did not give a fixed date by when they expected the Board to revoke its permission.
