MARGAO
A joint inspection of the Goa Carbon Ltd factory at Sao Jose de Areal was conducted on Tuesday by officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change, Chief Secretary and the Goa State Pollution Control Board to find out whether the factory has obtained all the consents required in setting up the industry.
The team was also given a brief whether the conditions laid down therein have been complied with by the industry or not and if there is any non-compliance on the part of the industry, whether an amount of Environmental Damage Compensation (EDC) to be levied and to propose correction action.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), which has been appointed as the nodal agency to conduct the inspection, will compile the report.
Director, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) Johnson Fernandes, who represented the Chief Secretary at the inspection, said a report of the inspection will be compiled and filed before the National Green Tribunal.
Though the petitioners in the case were not allowed initially to join the inspection, Johnson said they were later allowed inside the factory premises to ensure transparency.
To a question, Johnson said a report of what has been observed inside the factory premises will be compiled and submitted to the NGT. “We may recommend extra measures for the management to take certain precautions”, he said, adding that the team has been granted one month’s time to complete the exercise.
When a local activist Tannyson read a paragraph of the petition filed in the NGT that pollution has crossed the permissible limits, Johnson said, “The team is in possession of the petition. We will compile the report. Let the NGT decide on the issue”.
