*GU scholars must speak out for Mopa’s sensitive ecology: GFDO* PANAJI: Goans For Dabolim Only (GFDO) has urged Goa university scholars to speak out on the proposed Mopa international airport being constructed in an eco-sensitive zone and questioned the silence of environment minister Alina Saldanha on the degradation of the ecology of Goa.
(GFDO) has urged Goa university scholars to speak out on the proposed Mopa international airport being constructed in an eco-sensitive zone and questioned the silence of environment minister Alina Saldanha on the degradation of the ecology of Goa. Questioning the silence of environment minister Saldanha on the proposed Mopa international airport being constructed in an eco-sensitive zone, the Goans For Dabolim Only (GFDO) convenor Fr Eremito Rebelo on Saturday cautioned Goans 'not to get hoodwinked by the state BJP government's ruse of convening a public hearing on the EIA prepared by the Engineers India Ltd. Since the EIA displays the contempt of the government to the ecology and people of Goa.' Addressing mediapersons, Rebelo added, "The GFDO is still waiting for a reply to its letter addressed to chief secretary Kewal Sharma dated January 19, 2015. Although the report states that data on biological study has been obtained from secondary sources like published literature, for obvious reasons, it has failed to mention the sources/references to authenticate its data. Various vulnerable species of flora, fauna, butterfly and fish have not been considered as Schedule I and II species in the EIA as they actually are, thus skewing the study and raising doubts about the credibility and the motives of this EIA. The government spends crores on Goa university that has the best intellectuals in most fields who are silent when they ought to speak out and let the truth be known about the ill-effects of such big projects. In such a massive project covering 84 lakh sqm of land in an eco-sensitive zone, the government should have shown some seriousness in using up-to-date and recent data as the basis for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) rather than relying on some outdated and perhaps, irrelevant records collected way back in 2011. Before announcing a public hearing, it was the government's duty to scan the EIA and check its scientific basis and validity through its environmental bodies like the Goa state biodiversity board (GSBB) and the Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB), besides others which are being funded by the Goan tax payer for this very purpose," Rebelo stated. "The environmental bodies should also take responsibility and accountability by publicly certifying that the the Mopa plateau is an eco-sensitive zone. Since it is located next to the Western Ghats that serve as a key barrier to intercept the rain-laden monsoon winds and is home to innumerable water bodies. Till date, there has been no response or effort from any of the authorities to address people's very serious and justifiable doubts on the validity and accuracy of the EIA. The land acquisition had been undertaken prior to the EIA that has now suddenly been submitted, claiming to have been done in 2011 which is therefore very suspicious and a big farce," said Jose Maria Miranda.
