File photo of Cuncolim residents protest against the new fish meal project at Cuncolim.
MARGAO
Residents of Cuncolim are keeping their fingers crossed as the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) is expected to commence hearings on the application submitted by the promoters of a fish meal plant proposed outside the limits of the Cuncolim Industrial Estate.
The GSPCB hearing assumes significance against the backdrop of the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC) having earlier rejected the proposal by refusing to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the project. Following the CMC’s decision, the Pollution Control Board had not processed the application, prompting the promoters to approach the High Court.
The High Court subsequently directed the GSPCB to conduct a hearing involving the project proponents as well as all other interested stakeholders within 45 days of its order.
Key stakeholders”including the Cuncolim Municipal Council, local MLA and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, and anti“fish meal activists”are closely watching the proceedings, asserting that the GSPCB may take a call on technical and environmental grounds before granting or denying clearance to the project.
Against this backdrop, local residents are gearing up for a fresh agitation on the ground to oppose the fish meal plant, which has already received in-principle approval from the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board (IPFB). Their opposition stems from the fact that the same project was initially approved by the IPFB in Quepem taluka but was forced to relocate following sustained protests by the local population, largely comprising members of the Scheduled Tribe community.
Residents of Cuncolim are now questioning how a project opposed in Quepem has been proposed in their town”particularly outside the Cuncolim IDC limits”when the local population has been consistently battling pollution from existing industries, including fish meal and fish processing units operating within the IDC.
“Cuncolim cannot be turned into a dumping ground for polluting industries,” said anti-pollution activist Aviraj Desai. “How can the Investment Promotion Board clear a fish meal plant in Cuncolim when the same project was opposed in Quepem? This is totally unacceptable. Let the promoters set up the fish meal plant at their place of residence, but not in Cuncolim.”
Residents have warned that they will intensify their agitation if authorities fail to heed local concerns and environmental risks associated with the project.
