MONDAY, JULY 08, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Environmentalists and locals have hailed the High Court of Bombay at Goa’s directive to the government to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on transportation of ‘e-auction ore’.
Speaking to O Heraldo, Goa Foundation Director Claude Alvares said, “It’s a very great judgment because for the first time the High Court has expressed serious concern about the fundamental rights of village people. Normally, in the State of Goa, everybody is only concerned about the rights of the mine owners, the lease holders, transporters and barge owners. It looks like only these people are there in the State of Goa. But for the first time the court has in several pages focused on the problems faced by village people from the transport operators.”
Environmentalist Ramesh Gauns said, “The Director of Mines and Geology (DMG) cannot give alternatives to Vedanta company. If the public road is to be used then the company should go for a bypass that should be constructed by the company. The company has said that it has a dedicated road. If it is so then why is public road required or why do you go for litigation in the High Court?. It is absolutely not possible. Vedanta has to find its own way of transporting iron ore.
There are a huge number of commuters travelling using ferries from Bicholim to other sides and it will be very difficult and annoying for them if iron ore transportation starts. There is no way that they can manage. The stress on the road will be too high. The roads are hardly five metres in width while the width is more than two meters. There will be two wheelers and four wheelers.”
Activist Swapnesh Sherlekar said, “You cannot be transporting iron ore at the cost of the health and welfare of the locals. The first right to the villages is of locals. The SOPs have to be created in consultation with all the stakeholders specially the farmers and the locals.”
Advocate Ajay Prabhugaonkar said, “The order says that it will maintain proper balance between right to life and the state to do business. It has given the best trial to maintain a balance between economy and environment. Now the things are under the control of DMG and Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).”
Sakaram Pednekar, a petitioner, said, “We were arrested in the past for stopping transportation. Police would ask us to bring a court order if we wanted to stop the transportation. Now we have got the order in our favour. Now there will be no transportation through our village. We will not object if any alternate routes are used but we will not allow them to take the ore through villages.”
