As the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister inaugurated the six-lane access-controlled road between Manohar International Airport and Dhargal in the state, the usefulness of the 7 km project, which has been estimated to cost Rs 1,183 crore, was highlighted by the Union Minister.
According to the Union Minister, the road promises to significantly improve connectivity to Manohar International Airport, situated in Mopa, facilitating faster and hassle-free travel.
Expectedly, it was also projected that the infrastructure development in the area would enhance tourism activities and provide a boost to multi-modal connectivity, thereby reducing logistics costs. The Union Minister then reiterated the aim to ensure smoother and safer traffic movement, which he claimed would lead to savings in fuel consumption and travel time.
And at the Inauguration Ceremony held at Mopa on the 11th of July, the Union Minister could be observed distributing Mementos of the Project Completion for the 6-lane access controlled road.
However, it would be important to remember the Environmental Impact Assessment that was continually sidelined in order to turn the project into a reality.
Environmental Impact
Primarily, it would be noteworthy to cite the observations by Margaret Ojochide Aligbe and Rakesh Prasad in their Case Study entitled: The Environmental Assessment Basis of the Decision to Build a New Airport at Mopa in Goa, India (2020), which appropriately summarise the way things have been done:
- “At each stage of the decision-making, imposing a slew of additional environment mitigatory conditions was considered adequate as a condition attached to the grant of environmental clearance.
- The environmental assessment was more compliance oriented than served as a true aid to decision making by environmental regulators.
- A tenacious though eventually unsuccessful contest was entered by a local environmentally conscious citizens group, along with one of the displaced farmers.
- The scrutiny in judicial review, even quashing the environmental clearance at one stage, was also found to be notable, reflecting the role of environmental law and justice as decision-support for the environmental assessment.” (Aligbe & Prasad, 2020).
Mopa 6 Lane Access Controlled Road Project
The Directorate of Civil Aviation, through its Director, namely Dr. Suresh Shanbhogue had issued a Certificate dated: 12.04.2021 which stated in the “CERTIFICATE: LIST OF TREES IN THE LAND PROPOSED FOR DIVERSION”: “that forest area involved in this project is only 28,883 sq mtrs. The list of trees as surveyed by the Goa Forest Department is enclosed.”
Interestingly, the list of trees documents in the forest area which were proposed to be felled in deference to the ambitious road project, as per the attached list totalled to 467 trees and one hollow bark.
Prior to the issuance of the Certificate dated: 12.04.2021, the North Goa District Collector issued a Certificate which stated that: “It is certified that an area 6503 sq.mts. under Sy. No.337 (Government land), an area 22,260sq. mtr. Under Sy. No. 339 (Private land) and an area 120 sq.mtrs. under Sy.No. 340( Private land), total area 28,883 sq.mts of Forest land in village Dargalim in Pernem Taluka proposed to be diverted in favour of Directorate of Civil Aviation, Secretariat Porvorim for Construction of Approach Road to Mopa Airport in North Goa district falls within jurisdiction of Dargalim village in Pernem Taluka.”
And further, the Note of Justification for the PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF APPROACH ROAD TO MOPA AIRPORT PROJECT IN PERNEM TALUKA, dated: 12.04.2021 reveals: “The current village road will not be able to cater to the traffic envisaged. Therefore, a dedicated access controlled 6-lane approach road is planned to connect the Mopa Airport to the nearest National Highway. For this purpose three alternate alignments as approach road connectivity to Mopa Airport were considered. After taking into consideration the technical feasibility and impact on habitation, one alignment was finalized as this alignment has no habitation requiring rehabilitation…”
Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) for Mopa Airport
The EAC in its 40th meeting held on 23rd April, 2019, observed: “(iv) The EAC further observed that as per the supplementary report and the proposal of the water bodies with respect to observation regarding plateau effect of the land and also laterite surface and the springs, streams and water courses in the project land have been taken into account and appropriate drainage channels have been designed to take care of the water flows into the nearest water courses/rivers, etc.
(v) Appropriate storm water drainage channeling has been taken into account not only for the pre-monsoon season but also for monsoon and heavy rainfall. The drainage plan should have ratification by the concerned water resources department of Goa. It should be ensured that sustainable water flow in the various channels of watershed in the plateau is maintained. For the present, base level data on flow of water should be collected and used for future monitoring.”
Can Infrastructural Development truly supersede Environment?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency: “More frequent and intense downpours, projected for all regions of the country, can overwhelm the design capacity of municipal stormwater management systems. Overwhelmed stormwater management systems can lead to backups that cause localized flooding or lead to greater runoff of contaminants such as trash, nutrients, sediment or bacteria into local waterways.” (EPA, 2024).
Therefore, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways ought to introspect about the sacrifices that have been borne by Goa’s Environment in exchange for optimisation of accessibility to an airport. Can greatness truly be felt in the executive prowess of an Union Minister when the foundational principle of sustainable development has been overlooked in favour of the project?
