PANAJI:
Mormugao Port Trust on Wednesday expressed surprise at Goa State Pollution Control Board’s (GSPCB) decision to call off the public hearing scheduled for April 25.
MPT said that on April 10 the port authorities had written to South Goa collector Anjali Sehrawat assuring her that the MPT would “rectify the discrepancy pointed out by the GSPCB” well ahead of the public hearing.
GSPCB on Wednesday cancelled the public hearing and said that MPT had failed to provide annexures for the
Environmental Impact Assessment report. MPT however said that the annexures were provided but some copies were not legible.
“MPT had submitted all the requisite documents (20 copies of
EIA, Form I, TOR and summary of EIA) along with the requisite fees of Rs 15 lakh,” MPT said in a statement.
MPT officials said that though the initial meeting was scheduled for April 25, at a recent meeting Sehrawat decided to postpone the public hearing to May 11 to allow MPT sufficient time to provide fresh EIA reports.
“Accordingly, MPT again submitted 30 copies of the EIA report, form I, TOR and executive summary in English and Konkani. Soft copies in the form of 30 CDs of the material were already handed over to them,” MPT said.
MPT officials said that cancellation of the public hearing and postponing the public hearing beyond May 11 could further delay the port’s expansion plans.
“It may spill over beyond the monsoon period as the venue of the public hearing, Tilak Maidan, may not be suitable during the monsoon resulting in delay in the execution of important projects for the state,” the port said.
MPT has urged the state government to conduct the public hearing in the second or third week of May to avoid further delay in the project due to the onset of monsoons.
