Anti-Mopa battle will be fought on streets and court too: GFDO Lambasts Pollution Control Board chairman for forwarding EIA public hearing report without carrying out an independent study
21 Feb, 2015, TEAM HERALD MARGAO: Asserting that its ongoing battle against Mopa will continue in the people’s court as well as in the judiciary, Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) on Friday said that Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha should quit office if he is working under political pressure. Slamming the GSPCB for forwarding the EIA public hearing report to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests without carrying out an independent study on the issue, the GFDO has demanded to know whether the GSPCB chairman is working under the pressure from Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar or Environment Minister Alina Saldanha. The GFDO also warned the MLAs supporting the BJP government that the organisation will come out in the open to get them defeated in the 2017 assembly election. Addressing the media, GFDO Convenor Fr Eremito Rebello said the GSPCB chairman has committed a grave mistake by deciding to send the EIA public hearing report to the MoEF. “The GSPCB is an autonomous body and the chairman is being paid from the tax payer’s money. He is acting on political pressure. He should resign from office if he is working under pressure”, he said. Rajendra Kakodkar said the GSPCB chairman owes an apology to the people of Goa for sending the EIA public hearing report to the MoEF without carrying out an independent study. Fr Rebello said that an impression is created in many quarters that the GFDO has abandoned the path of agitation and will fight the issue in the court. He clarified that the issue will be vociferously fought on the streets as well as in the court. “Though our approach towards countering the so called EIA is administrative cum judicial, the overall strategy in the struggled for Dabolim only will continue in the people’s court”, he asserted. Sidharth Karapurkar and Edwin Pinto demanded to know whether the GSPCB used it own machinery and scientists to study the EIA report and further asked whether the board had given an independent opinion on the pros and cons of the project. They further sought to know why the EIA public hearing was not held on the Maharashtra side of the border coming within the 10 km radius and which has been demarcated as a wildlife elephant corridor. Fr Eremito reiterated that Dabolim will serve Goa’s requirements if Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar uses his clout at the Centre and release additional land for the expansion of the existing airport. “We want to tell the ruling MLAs that the assembly election is just two years away. We want to ask them how they will face the electorate for not opposing Mopa”, Fr Eremito said, while warning that GFDO along with the people will come out in the open to get these MLAs defeated.
