Unruly scenes at Mopa airport’s EIA hearingTNN | Feb 2, 2015 Varkhand: A public hearing on environment impact assessment (EIA) study on the Mopa airport was held at Simeche Adven here, amidst noisy scenes with opponents and supporters deposing on a host of environmental and other issues in a nearly four-hour long session on Sunday.
The hearing at the project site on the EIA drawn up by Engineers India Limited (EIL) and supported by the state government was conducted by the Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB) with nearly 1,000 police personnel deployed at the site. It was marred by altercations between supporters and opponents, which threatened to escalate into physical confrontations, but the police prevented any untoward incident. A large section of those present were vociferous in their support to the project and heckled speakers raising critical issues related to it. A total of about 60 speakers deposed at the hearing with North Goa collector Nila Mohanan, GPSCB member secretary Levinson Martins, additional magistrate Swapnil Naik and other officials, including director (civil aviation) S Shanbhogue on the dais. The critics of the EIA study raised several issues about the assessment being done belatedly after land acquisition and issue of request for qualification (RFQ), lack of information on animal life, water sources, social status of local communities and other issues. A few also raised legal issues and questioned the validity of the EIA study prepared by the government of India undertaking, alleging that it had failed to take up important aspects of the environment and did not cover the buffer zone of 5 km and 10 km beyond the project area. Some speakers pointed out that people of border areas of Maharashtra within the buffer zone were not taken into consideration. Representatives from the Dhangar community, including women, also spoke at the hearing. The project supporters backed the EIA study and commended the arrangements for the hearing. They drew the panel's attention to the advantages of the airport and its spin offs to local economy and how modern technology could be used to setup the airport as a model in the country by minimizing the damage. But both sides were unanimous on certain issues and criticized the land acquisition process, poor compensation and lack of transparency on issues related to employment, related projects including golf course and other issues. Activist Abhijit Prabhudesai, who criticized the EIA study, stated that a critical issue of airport location has been overlooked though it causes maximum impact, contrary to EIA guidance manual for airports of MoEF. The airport is close to the Western Ghats and the Mopa plateau has turned into a refuge for bisons, elephants and other wild life displaced by dams in Supa, Tillari and mining activity in Dodamarg. The area 10 km from the site is also a tiger corridor. Further, he raised issues about category one operations, which require approach lighting to extend 900 metres beyond the plateau borders and this would be in government forest for which department clearance is required. The EIA has missed out the fact that the plateau located 172 metres above sea-level is the highest in Goa and there are geological and hydrological implications. It has 43 springs and water resources are important for fisheries. Chandan Parab, a resident of Mencurem, said that with the advance in technology, the airport could be built on modern lines to serve as a model in airport building. Green building norms would be followed, an official assured. Kennedy Afonso criticized the EIA, stating that it was manipulated at the government's behest. Why was the hearing not conducted before land acquisition. Irked by the heckling from a section of the crowd, he insisted that decorum be maintained. P Sarmokadam, a local resident, said that the airport would not be blindly accepted, but it was a better option than bauxite mining. But he called for a detailed study involving at least two season cycles and proper water management. Siddarth Karapurkar, an activist stated that reference to the sides of the plateau as a natural drain in EIA was incorrect, as there are perennial springs and cashew orchards on it. "There are 40 lakh cashew and other trees, which yield income of more than 50 crore," he said. He further stated that a business centre related to Mopa airport has been proposed and more such projects will come up later but people have not realized it. "Why is a golf course needed and this is forced economy?" he alleged. The EIA relies on data, which is biased, as it is provided by the project proponent, the state government itself. The civil aviation director stated that all norms as required under the rules had been followed and the EIA was based on a study done by a Goan researcher and it had noted that Mopa plateau is not an eco-sensitive zone. Water harvesting and various other measures will be taken up, he said. Fr Eremito Rebello, convenor of Goans for Dabolim only (GFDO), Devendra Prabhudesai of People for Mopa, Godfrey Gonsalves, Narayan Parab, Joe D'Souza, Ramesh Gauns and Prasad Shahapurkar were among those who deposed at the hearing. Members of panchayats in the vicinity also aired their views at the hearing. Despite the tension and the clouds of dust raised by footfalls, there were some light moments. The hearing which had commenced at 10.30am ended in the evening after the officials read out the minutes. A total of 1,586 persons had signed the enclosed attendance sheet while 1150 representations were received.
