Goa: Environmentalists upset, ask why project was not scrapped

MARGAO/VASCO: The Supreme Court order setting aside the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) clearance for the Railways track-doubling project has evoked mixed response from environmental activists. While several of them have welcomed the order terming it as “people’s victory”, others said they were “disappointed” that the project was not ordered to be scrapped as they had expected.
Goeant Kollso Naka (GKN) stated that the SC order was “a complete contradiction that ignores and defeats the CEC report”.
“Based on the findings of CEC, we expected the project to be cancelled. Our worst fears are now confirmed, and all three linear projects continue to threaten Goa. GKN calls upon all Goans to continue the struggle, until all of the coal transportation infrastructure projects are laid to permanent rest,” a press statement by GKN said.
“As track doubling is a linear project, the entire project needs to be scrapped. I am disappointed with the order. The SC order has given them a chance to still go ahead with the project against the CEC recommendations,” co-convenor of GKN, Abhijit Prabhudessai, said.
Goencho Ekvott (GE) welcomed the verdict. In its press statement, GE stated that central government has “forced these disastrous projects on the people of Goa since the double tracking is exclusively built for the transportation of hazardous coal from Indonesia, Mozambique and Australia via Mormugao Port Authority to the neighbouring steel plants in Karnataka.”
GE’s founder member Orville Dourado demanded that the government “scrap all the three linear projects and immediately direct all departments to stop work on double tracking, scrap the land acquisition process and revert the acquired land for the project”.