Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: As Goa is eyeing to revive the local economy in the mining rich villages, the State government, while propoising to drop 49 villages from the eco-sensitive areas (ESA) of the Western Ghat region, has said that notifying these villages will have major impact on the iron ore mining sector. Impact on minor minerals like laterite and basalt quarries, is yet another concern raised by the State- where the Centre has proposed to notify 99 villages as ESA.
State government in a recent communication to the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has highlighted various reasons cum concerns with regards to declaring 99 villages as ESA thereby imposing several restrictions including ban on red categopry industries.
“In many of the villages which we are seeking to be dropped there are both major and minor minerals which have been leased out with a valid Environmental Clearance,” the letter, written on June 14, stated.
The State said that the minor minerals such as laterite and basalt stone quarries has been the only source of raw material which is used in the construction for local houses and for multi storied buildings of the Government or private entrepreneurs.
“Although the Notification speaks about the continuation of the existing activities, it does not make a mention of the expansion of the activities which will be the need of the hour in the future. These activities are in the nature of livelihood and in the event if the said villages are notified it would affect the entire circular economy of the State including loss of employment,” it added.
“We may add here that natural resources would continue to remain as is where is basis but forests can be shifted from one place to another by means of plantation of trees. It is in that context that exploration of resources should be permitted to continue,” the State said.
The State also highlighted that there are industries existing in the villages.
“For example in the village of Bhuimpal there is a bus body building industry which is now coming under red category. This industry has been in existence since 1980 which is instrumental in exporting buses. In the event if they want to expand their industry the Notification will prohibit the same which would result in the said industrial unit shifting its base outside Goa resulting in economic loss and unemployment for the inhabitants of Goa,” it said.
The draft notification declaring ESA over Western Ghats was first issued in March 2014, based on suggestions by the High-Level Working Group (HLWG), which was formed by the Centre in 2012. The HLWG panel, headed by space scientist K Kasturirangan, reviewed suggestions in a report prepared by the senior ecologist Madhav Gadgil-led expert committee on ESAs.
In April 2022, the Centre formed another panel to “re-examine suggestions by these six state governments…, keeping in view the conservation aspects of the disaster-prone pristine ecosystem, as well as rights, privileges, needs and developmental aspirations of the region”.
The Central government on Friday issued the sixth iteration of a draft notification, declaring 56,825.7 sq km of the Western Ghats an ecologically sensitive area (ESA) in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The notification has been reissued after the previous draft, notified on July 6, 2022, lapsed; the Centre and these six states have not arrived at a consensus on the extent of ESA to be demarcated in the ecological hotspot.
The ESAs proposed across these states are spread over 449 sq km in Gujarat, Maharashtra (17,340 sq km), Goa (1,461 sq km), Karnataka (20,668 sq km), Tamil Nadu (6,914 sq km), and Kerala (9,993.7 sq km). The Centre has provided a window of 60 days to submit objections and suggestions on the draft.
