PANAJI
With the proposed deepening of the Mormugao Port navigation channel involving around 15 million cubic metres of capital dredging, the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the impact of the massive underwater activity will be monitored by an independent government agency or institute.
In its submission before the NGT, the MPA has also stated that a detailed marine biodiversity management plan will have to be prepared through the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) or another reputed institute. The plan is required to cover a wide range of marine biodiversity components, including intertidal habitats, corals, molluscs, seagrass, seaweed, fish, benthos, plankton, turtles and birds.
The MPA made the submissions in response to a challenge before the NGT against the environmental and CRZ clearances granted by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change in July 2025 for the channel deepening project.
The project envisages increasing the depth of the Outer Channel from 14.40 metres to 19.80 metres, while the Inner Channel, Outer Turning Circle and approaches to Berths 5, 6 and 7 will be deepened from 14.10 metres to 19.50 metres, the MPA said.
MPA informed that nearly 1.75 lakh cubic metres of weathered rock is expected to form part of the dredged material, with the bulk of the seabed comprising sand and clay. The total dredging quantity is estimated at around 15 million cubic metres.
The dredged material is proposed to be disposed of at a designated offshore disposal site measuring 2 km by 2 km, spread over four sq km and located at the -27 metre contour north of the approach channel. The MPA has stated that turbidity generated during disposal is expected to settle within around two weeks.
The MPA has maintained that the impact of the dredging would be negligible and said the capital dredging would be undertaken offshore, approximately 0.5 km from the coast. It clarified that the work does not involve rock excavation on the nearby cliff and that the dredging location is around 5 km from the estuary mouth.
The MPA has argued before the tribunal that deepening of the approach channels is in the national interest to meet the navigational requirements of cape-size vessels, which it said would provide economic benefits to Goa as well as the country.
The MPA said that the EC granted by the Ministry lays down safeguards for marine ecology, including undertaking dredging in a manner that confines turbidity, sediment monitoring and safe disposal of dredged material. It also prohibits dredging during the fish breeding season.
The clearance also mandates that compliance reports be uploaded on a half-yearly basis.
