PANAJI: Curtorim Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Thursday dared Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to make public the letter which he claims was sent earlier this year by the present BJP government to the central government voicing opposition to the expansion of Mormugao Port Trust's coal handling capacity.
Speaking at Congress House, Reginaldo stated, "Parrikar assured me on the floor of the House that he will write to the central ministry opposing the expansion. But he has still not produced the copy of this letter. I have reminded him about it. In the Assembly two to three BJP MLAs, whose constituencies are suffering because of the coal pollution, stood in my support. I dare Parrikar to disclose what he has written to the central government."
Countering Parrikar's claim that over 90 per cent of the electricity is manufactured from coal, Reginaldo stated, "Parrikar says that 93 per cent of the coal is used to produce electricity. I have a report of Sagarmala and a masterplan of MPT, which clearly state that the projected amount of coking coal for the year 2035 will be 30 to 40 million metric tonnes used for steel plants, thermal coal will be only five to six million metric tonnes and for steel it will be only six to seven million metric tonnes. On what basis does the CM claim to the contrary that this coal will be used to produce electricity?"
The Curtorim MLA also disputed Parrikar's claim that there has been a 75 per cent reduction in coal-related pollution over the last three months. "Since it was the monsoon season in Goa for the last three months, coal dust settled due to the humidity. But once there is less moisture in the air, the coal dust will thicken," Reginaldo argued.
Adopting an aggressive stance and armed with official documents, the Congressman alleged that it was Parrikar, who gave land to the coal companies with sweeping powers.
"It was the then Congress CM Digambar Kamat who wrote to the Union government in 2009 opposing expansion. In 2012, the forst thing that Parrikar did after assuming power is reduce green cess from two per cent to 0.5 per cent. Following this, Adani started operations in 2014. Nationalization of rivers, all infrastructure and doubletracking of highways is nothing but support for the upcoming coal industry," Reginaldo lashed out dismissing the issue of Congress being involved in making Goa a coal hub.
Speaking at Congress House, Reginaldo stated, "Parrikar assured me on the floor of the House that he will write to the central ministry opposing the expansion. But he has still not produced the copy of this letter. I have reminded him about it. In the Assembly two to three BJP MLAs, whose constituencies are suffering because of the coal pollution, stood in my support. I dare Parrikar to disclose what he has written to the central government."
Countering Parrikar's claim that over 90 per cent of the electricity is manufactured from coal, Reginaldo stated, "Parrikar says that 93 per cent of the coal is used to produce electricity. I have a report of Sagarmala and a masterplan of MPT, which clearly state that the projected amount of coking coal for the year 2035 will be 30 to 40 million metric tonnes used for steel plants, thermal coal will be only five to six million metric tonnes and for steel it will be only six to seven million metric tonnes. On what basis does the CM claim to the contrary that this coal will be used to produce electricity?"
The Curtorim MLA also disputed Parrikar's claim that there has been a 75 per cent reduction in coal-related pollution over the last three months. "Since it was the monsoon season in Goa for the last three months, coal dust settled due to the humidity. But once there is less moisture in the air, the coal dust will thicken," Reginaldo argued.
Adopting an aggressive stance and armed with official documents, the Congressman alleged that it was Parrikar, who gave land to the coal companies with sweeping powers.
"It was the then Congress CM Digambar Kamat who wrote to the Union government in 2009 opposing expansion. In 2012, the forst thing that Parrikar did after assuming power is reduce green cess from two per cent to 0.5 per cent. Following this, Adani started operations in 2014. Nationalization of rivers, all infrastructure and doubletracking of highways is nothing but support for the upcoming coal industry," Reginaldo lashed out dismissing the issue of Congress being involved in making Goa a coal hub.
