---------------------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC) Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Killing Goa for seven pieces of silver ------------------------------------- Call it influence of the Big C - corruption or sheer callousness under the Congress government. And the residents of Cuncolim village must be ruing the day they did not wake up earlier to take action against the polluting units that have destroyed the soil and water table around their village and nearly poisoned their lives.
Documents in possession with Herald have revealed that way back in 1993, Sunrise Zinc had approached the Congress government to set up a ferro alloy unit in Goa. At a High Power Cabinet Committee (HPCC) meeting on February 15, 1993 at EDC House, with the former chairman and Chief Minister Ravi Naik, Sunrise Zinc's project was discussed by the eighteen members comprising of Suresh Parulekar, Minister for Industries, Dr Carmo Pegado Minister for Urban Development, Anil Baijal Secretary Industries, B Prasad Managing Director EDC and Dr M Modassir Director of Industries and Mines among the many others. At that meeting a representative of the company mentioned that technology for the project was being given by scientists from Babha Atomic Research Centre, but the HPCC concurred that Goa State Pollution Control Board should carry out a detailed assessment of the project and on receipt of the detailed report, action will be taken. However in their report to the High Powered Cabinet Committee, chaired by Ravi Naik, the Goa State Pollution Control Board clearly mentions, "A company representative, Nirgudkar informed the panel that the production technology was indigenously developed and is operational at Taloja, however the HPCC opined that the proposal would not be acceptable namely "as import of zinc, ash could create many uncertainties about its ingredients, especially toxic metals, which may remain unreported at some occasion. The GSPCB report mentions that the assumption of the applicant about the disposal of the final affluent is not correct as they have not taken into consideration the acidic nature of local soil which will not accept the treated effluent containing zinc an ammonium salt as nutrients." On April 20, 1994, the HPCC met under the chairmanship of the Ravi Naik, who considered the objections of GSPCB but approved the project, because the HPCC minutes state "it was cleared by the GSPCB." Says M K Jos, All Goa Citizens Committee for Social Justice and Action, "this is shocking as they manipulated the minutes of the April 20, 1994 meeting to pass the project knowing very well it was dangerous to the State and the people." And despite the GSPCB, warning the Congress government about the plant, GSPCB kept renewing the consent order to operate the plant and ensure safe disposal of the solid waste taking precautions that no leachate which may precolate to underground water. The level of corruption worsens and in 1999, the EDC sanctioned a loan of Rs 90 lakh to Sunrise Zinc. What is shocking is that in 2005, the company declared itself a sick industrial unit and referred itself to the BIFR, owing the Government of Goa Rs 3 crore. And the State will not be able to recover the money because thirteen years later, these same industries that played havoc by throwing safety regulations to the wind and disdainfully discharging solid and liquid effluents and polluting the ground water, came under the scanner with GSPC who found that they were polluting the environment and were forced to close down. Says Dr Joe D'Souza, microbiologist, "due to this callousness people are facing numerous medical problems." ----------------------------- HERALD 12/11/06 page 1 ----------------------------- ====================================== GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ====================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/attachments/20061115/cf73e106/attachment.html _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
