Consent to Establish granted despite local opposition
MARGAO
In a major setback to the people of Cuncolim waging a battle against the fish meal plants, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has decided to grant Consent to Establish to M/s Goa Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. to set up a fish meal plant at Cuncolim with conditions.
The Board, headed by Chairman Levinson Martins, has decided after a hearing of the parties, including the Project Proponent, besides the Cuncolim Municipal Council and the citizens opposing the project.
The GSPCB has given consent to establish the fish meal plant based on the recommendations made by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Board. A glance at the minutes of the Board’s decision granting consent to establish shows that the members of the TAC had visited a fish meal plant at Mangaluru in order to understand the working of the fish meal plant, including pollution control measures, and to examine effluents and odour control, besides other parameters.
The Technical Advisory Committee has submitted a report and made a host of recommendations, including the recommendation that since there is no Central Effluent Treatment Plant at Cuncolim, a state-of-the-art ETP needs to be designed and constructed for the proposed plant.
The TAC further recommended that incoming trucks should be sealed/insulated and that there should be no water discharge from these trucks on public roads, with the condition that this water has to be collected in the truck and delivered to the plant for treatment. “The GSPCB should not give any expansion permissions at a later stage. This causes process upsets. The project proponent should take permission for the maximum capacity in advance and accordingly design the plant. Construction/operation could be completed in stages. Some buffer area should be maintained around the plant for a green belt,” the TAC had recommended.
“The Board is of the opinion that all the conditions have to be included in the Consent to Establish to be granted to M/s Goa Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. to ensure that the project proponent obtains all statutory permissions prior to/after completion of establishment of the proposed unit, as applicable, which would include but not be limited to permission from the Town and Country Planning Department and the Land Conversion Document,” the decision stated.
The decision added: “Permission from the Water Resources Department, permission from the Department of Health, permission from the Fire and Emergency Department, permission from the Department of Factories and Boilers, and the local municipality/body or Investment Promotion Board, amongst all other permissions, as the case may be, which are required under the law. It is reiterated that the grant of Consent to Establish under the Water and Air Act cannot be construed as a blanket permission to start operations without obtaining any other statutory permissions required by law.”
“Considering the above, including the recommendations of the Expert Committee on the existing fish meal plant, it is felt that the recommendations of the Committees are relevant for addressing issues relating to odour control and effluent generation and treatment,” the Board’s decision stated.
