MARGAO
On World Environment Day, Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco made a fervent plea to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other central Minister, besides Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to scrap the linear projects in toto.
In his letter, the three-time Curtorim MLA called for scrapping of the three linear projects in the light of the April 24th 2021 Report of the Supreme Court’s appointed Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) which has raised the red flag on the ongoing linear projects, including double tracking project.
He said the CEC in its report has come down heavily on the double tracking of SWR line as it “will destroy the fragile eco-system of the Western Ghats which is an internationally recognised Biodiversity hotspot and also one of the most important wildlife corridor of the country”.
“It further added the double tracking would lead to hardly any returns “by marginally enhancing the capacity of the most inefficient section of the Railway Network passing through ecologically sensitive and bio-diversity rich Tiger Reserve, Two Wildlife Sanctuaries and a National Park”, he said.
He said the four-laning of National Highway NH 4A including the stretch from Mollem to Anmod in Karnataka has also drawn the ire of CEC.
“The CEC is of the view that for supporting “future increase in traffic, something unavoidable, and keeping in view the interest of the Wildlife Sanctuary and the National Park, it is imperative to ensure improvement of the existing road by shifting it to an elevated structure at strategic locations leaving the surface terrain free for movement of all types of wildlife”, he said, adding that Goemkars (Goans) cutting across human made divide have opposed the three Linear Projects as they would destroy Goa’s flora and fauna for good .
“The people of Goa have not opposed these projects for the sake of opposing because the people of Goa are aware that Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary and Mollem National Park. the forest and parkland of Goa have been preserved by our ancestors and it has been bequeathed to us so that it can be forwarded to our posterity without any destruction to house any imposed environmentally catastrophic mega projects”, he said.
