Times of India: Mapusa-Goa:
Saturday, March 16, 2013.
Notwithstanding
stiff opposition from Goa and Maharashtra, construction work on the mining
jetty at Aronda continues. Villagers of Keri and Paliem in Goa and Aronda in
Maharashtra claim that the work is being undertaken without approvals.
Aronda
locals, who have been opposing the jetty for the past one year, have formed a
'Aronda Bachao Sangharsha Samiti' (ABSS) to register their protest. ABSS
members have approached 18 concerned authorities in Maharashtra to stop the
jetty construction. They have also met Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
"The
iron ore loading jetty is coming up without permission from any authority in
Maharashtra. Information sought through RTI from the concerned departments
reveals that not a single competent authority has given permissions for a
mining jetty. It's completely illegal as it is in CRZ-I area," ABSS
president Avinash Shirodkar said.
Shirodkar
added, "They don't have the pollution control board permissions, the land
is agricultural and has not been converted to non-agriculture land, there is no
clearance from the forests department but huge tracts of mangroves have been
cut and land filling is also illegal."
The jetty on the
Maharashtra side of Tiracol river is planned to enable loading of iron ore onto
barges. Villagers around the area on both sides of the border fear that
widening and deepening of the river mouth to facilitate barge movement will
lead to sea water entering the river with greater force endangering those
living on the river banks. They also fear their villages could vanish.
Villagers
said work is presently on at a fast pace and large tracts of land are being
levelled to facilitate ore dumping. Dredging work, locals alleged, happens at
night.
Supporting
the movement in Aronda, Goa's Keri and Paliem panchayats have passed
resolutions opposing the jetty and forwarded these to the government.
"If
dredging is undertaken at the mouth of river Tiracol, protection in the form of
natural mountains will break away and Tiracol village will be washed away. The
historic Tiracol fort can cave in as its base will be destroyed," Keri
sarpanch Francis Rodrigues said.
"The
panchayat has passed a unanimous resolution opposing the jetty and forwarded it
to the government," Rodrigues added.
Paliem panch
Babani Arolkar has also opposed the jetty fearing health problems and a threat
to houses on the river bank. "Once the jetty begins functioning, dust
pollution will increase and create health hazards like TB and asthma. Because
of the dredging, houses in Kiranpani ward, which are on the river bank, can be
washed away," Arolkar said.
Locals have
sought Parrikar's intervention to stop the work on the jetty and have threatened
to march to the assembly when the house is in session in the coming weeks.
"The chief minister should intervene in the matter and save us from this
disaster in the making," Kiranpani resident Pramod Palyekar said.
Local
Maharashtra MLA Deepak Kesarkar has also registered his opposition to the
jetty. "The jetty is illegal as it is coming up without any permission and
is in a tourism notified area of Aronda. I will raise the issue in the assembly
(Maharashtra) and will also file a PIL in the court to oppose the jetty,"
Kesarkar told TOI.
Mandrem MLA
and panchayat minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the Goa government could not do
much as the work is in Maharashtra. "If they do any work in Tiracol we
will definitely oppose it. Illegalities will not be allowed," Parsekar
said.
There is no
activity visible on the Goa side of the river. On Thursday
around 600 people met the divisional executive officer in Sawantawadi and
presented him with a memorandum registering their opposition to the jetty. They
have also forwarded the memorandum to the Maharashtra chief minister.
"Some
350 families from Maharashtra dependent on fishing activity which will be
destroyed. There will also be health problems," ABSS member Manohar
Arondekar said.
Sources said
that a Mumbai-based firm is carrying out the constructing work at Aronda.
Purpose of
jetty: Loading of iron ore from Maharashtra mines. Villages affected: Keri and
Paliem in Goa, Aronda in Maharashtra
Repercussions:
Dust pollution, threat to villages of both banks of river Tiracol, threat to
Tiracol fort Villagers allege: All work being carried out is illegal, no
permissions obtained from Maharashtra government
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