Published: January 9, 2018 |

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The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), on Monday, granted 21 mining leases consent to operate till March 2018 on the condition that air ambient quality (AAQ) would be monitored three times a week.

The board has also unanimously decided to drop showcause notices issued to 23 mining leases with environmental clearance (EC) under the 1994 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification.

Of the 21 mining leases, 17 have ECs under the 1994 EIA notification. Around 12 mining leases were operational in the state and around 7 million tonne of iron ore have been extracted in the state during the current mining season.

Board members noted that though the ambient air quality parameters were within limits for the period January to December 2017, mining units did not comply with plan of action with regards to short-term and medium-term measures, as directed by the board.

“It was decided to grant conditional consent to these mining units with a time limit of three months to comply with the plan of action and submit a bank guarantee,” the board said.

The board will monitor ambient air quality three times a week instead of the present twice. GSPCB chairman Ganesh Budhu Shetgaonkar, said that cost incurred due to the increased monitoring will be borne by mining units for that cluster for which the monitoring is being conducted.

The board said that adoption of measures like sprinkling water on coal transportation routes, cleaning of roads, implementation of wheel washing mechanism and tarring of road shoulders will reduced pollution.

Once consent to operate is granted, the directorate of mines and geology will have to regulate the mining transport and act on the boards inputs of exceedances, if any, the board said, adding that the transport department will have to verify and check pollution certificates of the vehicles being used for transporting coal and also check for any violations under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Two mining companies have been allowed to extract additional iron ore as per the distribution done by the mines department.

The board has also unanimously agreed to drop the showcause notices issued to 23 mining leases with EC under the 1994 EIA notification.

23 mining leases were issued showcause notices for rejection of application/revocation of consent. Following the board legal adviser stating as the notification did not pertain to these mining units, the board deliberated the issue and unanimously agreed to drop the showcause notices.

Source: Times Of India

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