PANAJI
The South Western Railways (SWR) will examine the possibility of shifting the proposed iron ore handling operations at the Kalem railway yard to a location away from the boundary of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park.
The SWR had proposed to handle loading, unloading and transportation of ore at Kalem railway station yard located in the protected areas. The Goa State Board of Wildlife (SBWL) has deferred the decision on granting wildlife clearance to the proposal, which came up for discussion during its recent meeting.
During the meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as well as experts raised concern about potential impact of allowing handling of ore on the wildlife sanctuary and national park area. The Board sought to know from the SWR whether it is feasible for the railways to shift the handling of iron ore to the railway yard located around 2 kms from the Kalem village away from the boundary of the sanctuary.
In reply, the Additional General Manager of SWR said that “this being a policy decision, if any such proposal is received from the State government, then the matter will be examined by the railways and the decision will be communicated”.
As per the proposal, total area of land involved in the wildlife area is 0.7616 ha including yard and approach road in the village in Sanguem taluka, forming part of the protected areas.
The proposal was submitted in accordance with the directions of the High Court dated February 5, 2024, wherein the Court said to “consider the dispose of the application in accordance with the law and on their own merits after granting an opportunity of hearing the applicant and petitioner therein. Such application should be disposed of with four weeks’.
Consequently, the Chief Wildlife Warden directed SWR to apply for wildlife clearance before the Board.
Experts like Dr Pronoy Baidhya and Sujit Dongre emphasized that it is essential to consider the overall impact of the proposed operation on wildlife and potential impact on the watersheds, noting that the water would carry more debris downstream. They recommended forming a committee of experts to study and recommend mitigation strategies.
