Goa govt to seek fresh environmental clearances for traditional sand mining permits, ET RealEstate
PANAJI: A fresh environmental clearance (EC) will be sought and based on that, permits will be issued to traditional sand extractors, govt told the high court on Thursday.
The process will be completed within the next four months, advocate general Devidas Pangam said, adding that govt will focus on expediting the matter.
Camurlim Traditional Sand Extractor Owners Association, through their president Vivekanandkumar Khorjuvenkar, went to the HC seeking permission to start legal sand mining.
Pangam said the old EC for sand mining has not been withdrawn but is pending before the green tribunal. “The matter is not proceeding further and one of the grounds was that no district survey report was prepared by the collector,” he told the media after the hearing.
He added, “Therefore, instead of applying for a lease or licence based on that EC, we have decided to apply for a fresh EC to issue new permits. The old EC is not withdrawn, but we will not act based on that.”
