The National Green Tribunal has directed that the environmental clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone clearance for deepening the approach channel at Mormugao port in Goa must not be operationalised until the matter is heard again on November 2.
The interim direction temporarily prevents the clearances from taking effect for the proposed channel-deepening project. The order follows a petition challenging the environmental and coastal approvals granted for the work, according to Olencio Simoes, general secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum.
Several fisherfolk organisations welcomed the tribunal’s decision, describing it as an important interim step for protecting Goa’s marine ecology, coastal environment and traditional fishing livelihoods. The groups also linked the matter to public health concerns, although the reported order does not detail specific health impacts.
The approach channel is the navigational passage used for access to Mormugao port. Any proposal to deepen it requires regulatory clearances because dredging and related marine works can affect coastal and marine conditions. The reported petition challenges both the Environmental Clearance and the CRZ clearance issued for the proposed activity.
The development places the project’s immediate implementation on hold until the tribunal’s next hearing. It does not, based on the information available in the report, constitute a final decision on whether the clearances should be cancelled or whether channel deepening can proceed later.
The case is scheduled to come up before the National Green Tribunal on November 2. Further directions at that hearing will determine whether the interim restriction continues and how the challenge to the project’s environmental and coastal approvals proceeds.
