Civil Society voices over #SaveMollem grow louder!

PANAJI: The civil society protests over the proposed infrastructure projects in the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park in Goa are growing louder.
Villagers in Mollem and several professional groups in Goa have raised their voice against the proposed infrastructure projects passing through the two, protected wildlife sanctuaries.
The groups have written to the Supreme Court appointed, Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in New Delhi earlier this week.
Signatories include members of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, tourism stakeholders, veterinarians and allied animal welfare organisations, legal professionals, scientists, medical students, business owners and artists.
It may be recalled that on April 7, 2020, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) had granted diversion of protected forest land in Goa for the three linear infrastructure projects namely, widening of the existing National Highway 4A, railway line double-tracking and construction of new power transmission lines in a standing committee meeting of the National Board for Wildlife ( NBWL) via video conferencing.
In their letter to the CEC, the villagers of Mollem have cited the risks of deforestation from the infrastructure projects to public health and safety, the adverse economic impact on local industry, the threat to the flora and fauna and the legal questionability of these clearances in protected forest land.
Similarly, veterinarians in their letter have pointed out how more than 60% of human infectious diseases like rabies, malaria, encephalitis and Nipah virus are caused by pathogens shared with wild or domestic animals which are linked to habitat change.
They have raised concerns that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports initiated by the government have failed to make note of this connection.
Legal professionals on the other hand have stated that the proposals and clearances granted have violated a number of statutory provisions.
Likewise, the tourism stakeholders have warned that the loss of forest cover would destroy all the present, community-based tourism initiatives, thereby damaging the local economy and negating all chances of making Goa, a global leader in sustainable tourism.
Finally, in the light of the Covid crisis, scientists, veterinarians and medical students have pointed out the dangers of deforestation to air and water quality and how increased human-wildlife interaction could pose a health risk and result in economic losses to the local human and livestock populations.