the goan I network
VASCO
Fr Gabriel Coutinho was, however, quick to clarify that the donation was merely to upgrade the school, which mainly caters to children from underprivileged section of society, and had nothing to do with personal benefits to him or the parish.
Making mention of the Jindal South West Port’s donation, Fr Coutinho said JSW had donated Rs 25 lakh for the development of St Andrew’s School, which is adjacent to the church.
“I want to make myself clear that the donation has been given neither to Fr Coutinho nor to St Andrew’s Church, but to upgrade the school which caters to children from underprivileged sections of society,” said Fr Coutinho.
Fr Coutinho sought to make the public disclosure to prove that despite Jindal South West Port’s generous donation to the school, he was still opposed to MPT’s expansion plans.
“Nobody can say there is no coal pollution as every morning when the church is opened for services, coal dust is found settled on the pews. Once the fans are switched on, the dust is spread everywhere and the congregation starts coughing and sneezing during the services,” said Fr Coutinho.
“If human beings are not the point of reference during the hearing, then all proceedings conducted during the last five days are meaningless.”
“The point of reference for clean and green environment is human habitation. On
one side, we are working towards Swachh Bharat and on the other hand, MPT is promoting a hazardous and polluting environment,” the priest added.
