What is happening in Goa?
Politics
On the night of November 1, thousands of people gathered at the railway track in Chandor, South Goa to protest the double-tracking of the railway line in Chandor, which was being done to transport coal to Karnataka. The demonstrations continued for almost two days under the banner of ‘Goyant Kollso Naka’ (We don’t want coal in Goa).
Local residents are protesting against three infrastructure projects that are likely to threaten the ecological biodiversity of the state.
What are the three projects?
The three infrastructure projects are the expansion of a highway, railway and power transmission network. The expansion work is done for the transportation of coal from the Mormugao port (Goa) to steel plants located in north Karnataka.
According to the projections of Mormugao Port Trust for the year 2030, they want to import nearly 51.6 million tonnes of coal for Adani Group, JSW Group and Vedanta.
The Protests
These projects will lead to the felling of trees in and around the regions of Mollem National Park and Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, which not only house a number of animal species, but also bring tourist-revenue to the state.
Goencho Ekvott is an umbrella organisation which is a part of the movement against double-tracking. The convener, Creson Antao states that a memorandum has been issued to the Deputy Collector at the protest site, and even states that the move was illegal, as the Panchayat had not given permission to carry the work.
Current Developments
The Goan Environment Minister, Nilesh Cabral, has issued a statement on November 4, saying that the coal imports would be capped, and would not be increased over the current number of 10-12 million tonnes annually.
Alina Saldanha, a BJP state assembly member, wrote to the federal environment minister last week, saying she had “serious concerns” over environmental clearances given to some projects.