Goa’s chief minister, Pramod Sawant, advised his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday to worry about his own state rather than about the Goa government. Kejriwal had lent his voice to the “Save Mollem” campaign.
The protesters have opposed a trio of projects, a double track of a railway line, a highway expansion and a power line that will run through the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park in the coastal state.
“No state is as polluted as Delhi. They should look at that first. The people of Delhi are desperate for fresh air. You can go to Delhi by yourself and check it out. The coronavirus situation is also very bad, they are in the middle of a third wave, ”Sawant, who recently returned from Delhi, said at a press conference.
“Instead of commenting on Goa, I want to tell Kejriwal to worry about Delhi first and not Goa,” Sawant said.
“Go camping day and night at #savemollem and stop the # coal projects. FIRs conducted against many Goans, including (including) AAP volunteers. The gagging of protests and FIR’s accommodation will not cushion [the] Goa spirit to save Goa from being a coal hub. Governments should not implement projects against the wishes of the people, ”Kejriwal tweeted, joining the cause with various political leaders and celebrities.
Sawant said his government was also committed to preserving ecological diversity and that his discussion with the Union’s shipping minister in New Delhi focused on reducing imported coal through the port of Mormugao.
The railway line, by far the largest of the three projects, will have a diversion cost of 113,857 ha. of forest land and felling of 18,541 trees.
The second project, the four-lane project of the existing two-lane highway, was built by the Portuguese colonial government between Panaji in Goa and Belgavi in Karnataka and will cost 31,015 ha of forest land and 12,097 trees.
The third is a 400KV power line, 3.5 km of which runs through protected forest to increase the power supply between Goa and Karnataka and provide additional power to Goa.
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