PANAJI
The State government on Monday informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) its decision to recall or withdraw all environmental clearances (ECs) granted by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for sand mining in Goa.
The Advocate General Devidas Pangam in a submission before NGT assured to undertake the District Survey Report (DSR) as required under the sustainable sand mining guidelines before applying for fresh ECs.
The NGT, after recording the statements of the Advocate General, thereafter disposed of the appeal filed by the Goa River Sand Protectors’ Network (GRSPN) challenging ECs granted by SEIAA to North District Collector for extraction of sand along the stretches of River Chapora.
When the matter came up for hearing on Monday, the Advocate General made a statement that the Goa Government has decided not to pursue the four ECs that were issued in 2021 as they were issued without the DSR.
Instead the Government is now preparing a DSR as required by law and fresh applications for ECs will be made thereafter.
NGT, while disposing off the appeal recorded that the ECs have become infructuous as they will no longer be given effect to.
Legal sand mining activities have been banned in the State since 2018 after GRSPN approached the High Court seeking restrictions on the number of sand mining permits. The Directorate of Mines and Geology had issued over 300 sand mining permits for the 2017-18 seasons with a cap of 6,000 cum on extraction.
The Goa-SEIAA had in October 2021, granted EC to North Goa District Collector to carry out sand mining in River Chapora, manually by traditional communities. The decision of SEIAA was taken on the basis of a report submitted by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), who has also submitted a report with regards to Mandovi and Zuari rivers.
The ECs were granted for River Chapora- Zone 1 in Morjim, in Zone 2 Pirna, in Zone 3 Camurlim, Zone 4 in Revora, Zone 5 Ozorim, and in Zone 6 Agarwada.
The petitioner had pointed out that the estuarine area of the River Chapora is highly sensitive especially as it is one of the prime grounds for breeding of turtles, apart from sand dunes and mangroves in the vicinity.
