Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) welcomed the order issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) staying the dredging undertaken to deepen the existing navigation approach channel in the Vasco bay to allow larger-sized vessels into the Mormugao port area, and asking the MPT to restore the channel to its original state. In a statement issued here, the GRE joint general secretary Olencio Simoes has criticised the state and central governments for boosting illegal works, thereby affecting the people, including the traditional fishermen. The GRE had full faith in the judiciary and not in the government, Simoes has been quoted as saying. The release has further criticised the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (IA Division) and its scientist Yogendra Pal Singh scientist who has done a complete fraud by exempting the public consultation and stating that the dredging at MPT was maintenance dredging and not capital dredging and thereby by evoking section (3) (i) (cc) of the EIA Notification, 2006. The GRE and the National Fishworkers’ Forum had given a memorandum of 42 points to the state government, demanding to fulfil the same within the next 15 days. The memorandum had stated that the state government should come up with white paper in implementing the long pending demands of the fishing community which have not been implemented for the last over 40 years. The Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owners Co-operative Society Ltd president Custodio D’Souza also has strongly demanded that the fishermen of Goa will not tolerate any form of expansion in and around the Vasco bay by the MPT. He also has threatened to disrupt the port activities and would launch statewide agitation, if the MPT fails to stop its expansion
www.navhindtimes.in 2011