Green Tribunal stays nod to Mormugao Port’s channel deepening project in Goa

The appellants – Rupesh Shinkre, Sanjay Redkar and Jayesh Shetgaonkar – had filed an appeal before the NGT in September last year, challenging the clearance granted to M/s Mormugao Port Trust for the project titled ‘Deepening of approach channel for cape-size vessels’ on July 21, 2025.

The appellants submitted that there has been no assessment of the likely air and water pollution from dust emitted from handling of metallurgical ores like coal and coke, etc. The deepened approach channel will allow larger capsize vessels to dock at the port, resulting in increased capacity of handling coal/ores from 12 MTPA to 42.1 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), they had said.

In an interim order dated September 26, the NGT’s Western Zone Bench, Pune, said, “After having heard the arguments and looking to the discrepancies in the case in hand in grant of EC and CRZ, we are of the view that till next date, impugned EC and CRZ clearance shall not be operationalised.”

The matter will be heard next on November 2.

The tribunal also directed the port authority to place on record within two weeks evidence that a source apportionment study for air quality in Vasco Da Gama, Goa, carried out by IIT Bombay, was placed before the EAC at the time of consideration of the grant of EC/CRZ clearance. The counsel for the appellant submitted that the study was not brought before the EAC by the port authority.

The tribunal flagged that it “did not get any assistance” from the counsel for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on how certain conditions were incorporated in the EC and CRZ clearance. “Likewise, various other conditions were also pointed out, which are not relevant for the project in question. They appear to have been copied and pasted,” the order said.

The appellants had submitted to the NGT that the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) deliberations and report did not consider that a population of over 1 lakh, residing within a 2-km radius of the project, would be directly affected by the increased air pollution in the form of coal/coke dust arising out of the increased handling capacity at the port.

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In the appeal, the appellants claimed that the impact on the livelihood of the fishermen community, spread over 10 fishing villages in the study area of 10 kms, had been ignored. Project activity, such as removal of gravel from the seabed by dredging, would lead to loss of spawning grounds for fish, they said.

In February 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had granted the EC for deepening of a channel (approximately 0.27 km wide and 9.66 km long) and the inner basin (approximate area of 0.89 sq km).

The NGT, in September 2016, quashed and set aside the EC granted to the same project on the grounds that public hearing, which is mandatory, was not conducted. The matter was remanded back to the EAC of the Ministry for further action. A fresh application was made and terms of reference for the EIA study were approved in 2016. On July 21, 2025, environmental and CRZ clearance was granted for the project.