Govt assures a new CZMP with people’s views
Plan to be drafted by Environment Department in consultation with CZMA, GSPCB, scientists PORVORIM: In a major victory to the people, the State government on Tuesday announced it woud draft a fresh
Herald (Panjim)
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Goa bio-diversity board talks tough
PANJIM: The Goa State Biodiversity Board, in its first substantial meeting in many years and first since the board was reconstituted, has taken a strong stand that no project in Goa will go ahead without the consent of the Board. According to sources present at the Board meeting, the members of the board were of the unanimous view that no project should be granted permission and neither can any other environment regulatory bodies such as the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority or the Goa State Pollution Control Board issue their respective permissions without the permission of the biodiversity board.
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Samiti seeks resumption of legal mining
PONDA: People in and around Dharbandora have formed the Mining Bachao Samiti (MBS) to demand the resumption of legal mining activity in the State. At a meeting convened by the Dharbandora Truck Owners Association at Dharbandora recently, the MBS was formed with the involvement of various associations connected to the mining business in the State.
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Furtado wants debate on buffer zone
PANJIM: Corporation of the city of Panaji corporator Surendra Furtado has sought that all stakeholders sit across the debating table and decide on the state’s buffer zone. “Is it possible to earmark a general and mathematical buffer zone without taking into considerations the ground realities of each and every such sanctuary or park? Environmentalists, local dwellers, NGOs, captains of industry and government representatives from all the sanctuaries or parks individually have to seat across a table and debate what is best for Goa without hindering the harnessing of mineral resources on which the livelihood of thousands of people also depends,” Furtado said.
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No place to dispose garbage for 4 p’yats close to airport
VASCO: Barely days ahead of the October 31 deadline set by South Goa Collector N D Agarwal, all four panchayats in the area are still clueless on ways to clear garbage around Dabolim airport on a daily basis. With the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) refusing to accept their garbage, the four panchayats of Chicalim, Chicolna-Bogmallo, Sancoale and Velsao-Pale are left with no option to dump garbage in their jurisdiction as they all fall within the 10-km radius of the airport.
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Unfair compensation sows seeds of discontent
PANJIM: At a time when the government is promising to enact a policy to compensate people who lose land to government projects, farmers from Merces and neighbouring areas have become victims of the unsympathetic attitude of the government over compensation for land lost towards the Ribandar bypass via Kadamba plateau connecting Panjim to Old Goa on National Highway 4A. Farmers from Merces, Roque Fernandes, Mario Fernandes and many others question whether Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar~during whose previous tenure the bypass was proposed and constructed~will help land losers or forsake them as they face hard times as the remaining parts of the field have become uncultivable.
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Mines dept reworks submission to CEC
PANJIM: The report furnished by Goa Directorate of Mines and Geology on the condition of the mining sector and the illegalities committed in Goa between 2006 and 2011 to the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered
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Delay in implementation of Western Ghats report
PANJIM: The implementation of the Western Ghat Ecological Expert Panel (WGEEP) report, which recommended an ‘indefinite moratorium’ on new environmental clearances for mining in the ecologically sensitive zone (ESZ) in Goa, will be delayed further, at least till February 2013. The High Level Working Group constituted by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to examine WGEEP report in a holistic and multi-disciplinary fashion in the light of the comments received from the concerned state governments, central ministries and stakeholders, has been given extension of another four months to submit an action plan for its effective implementation.
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48 mining firms given time to make written submissions
PANJIM: The Goa State Pollution Control Board on Tuesday completed hearing the defences of 48 mining firms, which were accused of excess ore production in comparison to the permissions granted to them by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). The validity of the Environment clearances (EC) issued by MoEF were also verified during the hearing. Speaking to Herald, Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that the companies have been given time till October 29 to make written submissions, if any.
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Mines director air dashes to Delhi with a 100-page detailed report
PANJIM: Director of Mines and Geology Prasanna Acharya on Monday air dashed to New Delhi with a 100-page report detailing mining operations in Goa over the last five years. The report would be presented to Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC), whose members are scheduled to arrive in Goa on October 28 to study conditions of mines and illegalities involved.
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Ban on coal handling brings down pollution levels in Vasco
PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board’s (GSPCB) records indicate that the pollution levels in Vasco have come down tremendously after a stop in coal handling by Mormugao Port Trust at its berth number 10 and 11, since the last week of September. GSPCB has captured the dust pollution at six ambient air quality monitoring stations installed across Vasco town. The records reveal that the pollution levels have dropped down drastically improving the quality of air in the port town.