MARGAO
The contentious fish meal plant proposed at Cuncolim has once again reached the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
Days after the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC) rejected an application by Goan Marine Impex Pvt Ltd for a construction licence to erect a building for the proposed fish meal plant, the company has approached the High Court seeking directions to the civic body to issue the licence.
The company has also sought a declaration that its application dated July 7, 2025, be deemed to have been granted under Section 184(6) of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968, enabling it to undertake the proposed construction activities.
The petition is scheduled to come up for hearing before the High Court on November 3.
In its petition, Goan Marine Impex has referred to the CMC’s decision while rejecting the application for construction licence that the civic body has filed an appeal challenging the Consent to Establish granted to the company by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).
The company has contended that, assuming such an appeal has been filed, the Consent to Establish granted by the GSPCB has neither been stayed nor set aside by the Administrative Tribunal. It has alleged that the CMC is therefore seeking to prevent the company from establishing its factory within the municipal jurisdiction.
The company has further alleged that the CMC singled it out by rejecting its application for a construction licence and claimed that the decision was based on “extraneous considerations and oblique motives”. It has contended that the decision has no basis in law or fact and violates its legal and constitutional rights.
“The CMC has passed the decision on the basis of assumptions, surmises and conjectures,” the petition states, adding that a perusal of the decision does not identify any specific violation or action contrary to law by the company.
Goan Marine Impex has also submitted that it has issued purchase orders and commenced construction activities at the site. It has expressed apprehension that the CMC may use its decision to stop the construction work.
The company has claimed that it became entitled to carry out the construction from July 23, 2026, on account of the deeming provision under Section 184(6) of the Goa Municipalities Act.
Pending the final disposal of the petition, the company has sought a stay on the operation and effect of the CMC’s decision and an order restraining the civic body from taking coercive action against it or stopping the construction activities.
This is the second time in two years that Goan Marine Impex has approached the High Court over the proposed fish meal plant.
Earlier, the company had filed a writ petition after the GSPCB declined to grant its Consent to Establish. The pollution control board subsequently granted the consent following a fresh hearing involving the project proponents and local residents who had raised objections to the proposed plant.
CMC’s fish meal move no relief as locals seek action against existing polluters
MARGAO: Asserting that pollution continues unabated at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate, Citizens of Cuncolim, including former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes, on Tuesday pointed out that the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC) has only rejected the application for a construction licence for the proposed fish meal plant.
Gomes and activist Irineu Coutinho said residents of Cuncolim were yet to get any relief from pollution and foul odour emanating from the industrial estate, despite repeated protests and candlelight marches by citizens.
“The CMC has rejected the permission for the proposed fish meal plant. But what about the existing polluting plants operating at the Cuncolim IDC? People continue to complain about the foul and unbearable odour coming from the industrial estate,” they said.
Gomes further alleged that groundwater contamination in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate had caused “irreparable damage” to the underground water resources. “For the next 50 years, we will not be able to reverse the groundwater contamination. While people are suffering from the ill effects of pollution, there is no stop to the collection of commission and haftas,” he alleged.
Coutinho pointed out that the CMC Chief Officer, while rejecting the application for a construction licence for the proposed fish meal plant, had referred only to the complaint lodged by environmental activist Dr Jorson Fernandes.
The residents maintained that while the rejection of the construction licence was a development concerning the proposed fish meal plant, the larger issue of pollution from existing industrial units at the Cuncolim IDC remained unresolved.
