Panjim: The Opposition Congress party has alleged massive hill cutting and minor mineral mining activities since 2021 on the Calapur, Santa Cruz hill slope, along the National Highway 66. Goa Pradesh Congress Committee vice president Sunil Kawthankar on Wednesday challenged the Sawant government to show the environmental clearances where they alleged that besides putting up the present project, mining of minor minerals was carried out without Environmental Clearance. He demanded sacking of the Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane and action against officers responsible for giving NOCs to the project.

 

Kawthankar alleged that illegal hill cutting was carried out on a large scale for the construction of a building on the said plot. Disturbingly, the officers of the Town and Country Planning Department had granted permissions for the construction without reporting the extensive and unlawful hill cutting. This had resulted in significant environmental degradation including soil erosion, loss of vegetation and increased risk of landslides, all of which pose a serious threat to the local community.

 

He said that it was regretting that the Environment Department had not taken any action against these illegal activities. The department’s inaction enabled further environmental destruction and the unauthorised extraction of minor mineral, was causing depletion of valuable natural resources. Despite the proximity of these illegal activities to key government institutions, including the State Legislative Assembly Complex, which is about six km away, no effective measures have been implemented to address this issue. The residents of Calapur, Santa Cruz are concerned about the long-term impact on their environment and community.

 

Kawthankar also produced satellite images of the site clearly depicting the extent of the damage and the scale of the operations in question. The Congress Party has also written to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant demanding a thorough investigation and to hold accountable those responsible for these illegal activities and to take strict legal action against them. Kawthankar also demanded to immediately stop further construction activity and to revoke all the permissions and restore the damaged environment.