Panaji: The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) has decided to levy an administration-cum-processing fee of Rs 4 lakh from anyone seeking prior environmental clearance (EC) from it for dump mining. The authority has said that the fee of Rs 4 lakh will be applicable for every 100 hectares of area and that the fee has to be paid before the EC is issued.
Chowgule and Company had sought permission from the authority for handling of a dump situated outside the mining lease area in a private property at Sirigao, Bicholim. While deliberating on the case, the Goa-SEIAA realised that no fee had been fixed to process EC for dump handling.
Similarly, the Goa-SEIAA has also decided to hike the fine imposed on project proponents for not submitting their six-monthly compliance reports in a timely manner, as required by the respective projects’ EC conditions. The fine has been hiked from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000.
A notification dated Nov 26, 2018, issued by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) has made it mandatory for project proponents to submit six-monthly compliance reports. The compliance reports ensure that the project proponents are meeting the conditions set in the EIA such as mitigation measures to reduce air and water pollution, among others.
In Nov 2021, the Goa-SEIAA noted that many project proponents in the state were not meeting its requirement. This led the authority to impose a fine of Rs 15,000 at its meeting in Jan 2022. The fine had not been hiked since.
“The Authority decided to revise the fine amount from existing Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 for failure to submit each compliance report for category B2 (applicable for all the schedules that are mentioned in the ElA notification 2006),” the authority said at its recent meeting.
The Goa-SEIAA has also received a letter from All Goa Crusher and Quarry Owners Association regarding validity of an EC. On scrutinising the case, the authority noted that the validity of EC granted for mining projects is extended to 30 years or the life of mine, whichever is earlier, for those ECs that are valid as on issue of govt notification, which is April 12, 2022.
“In this context, after discussing the matter vigorously, the authority decided to extend the validity of EC which are valid as on the date of publication of the aforesaid notification, automatically, subject to the following conditions: The existing EC must be valid as on April 12, 2022, the conditions stipulated in the original EC must be complied and the processing fee for the extension of validity with respect to the life of the mine must be paid.”
