Madhav Gadgil warned Goa of flood dangers

The panel had recommended strict curbs on mining and quarrying and on use of land for non-forest purposes.

Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has

warned Goa may face the same fate as the flood-battered Kerala

if it does not take precautions on the environmental front.

Like in some other states, Goa, too, is witnessing

activities which are driven by greed for unlimited profits,

said Gadgil, who headed a committee that authored a widely

debated study on the Western Ghats a few years ago.

"Certainly all sorts of problems are beginning to

the surface on the environmental front in the Western Ghats. Goa,

of course, does not have the Western Ghats which are so high as in

Kerala, but I am sure Goa will also experience all sorts of

problems," he said, reacting to the worst-ever floods in the

southern state.

He said the reason for not taking any environmental

precaution (in general) is pure greed for unlimited profits.

"You have seen it in Goa too. The Union government-

constituted Justice M B Shah commission has estimated illegal

profits of Rs 35,000 crore from illegal mining," he said.

"There is also enormous profit in the business of

stone quarrying while there is very little investment," he

added while talking about the rampant hill in the Western Ghats.

"The greed for enormous profits has been allowed to go

on unchecked, which has actually worsened economic disparity

in the society.

"So now those who are making money through these means

are even more effective in getting the government to allow this

kind of rampant illegal behavior," Gadgil said.

The ecologist said governments have been lax on

implementing environmental norms.

"The central government is actually bending over

backward to make sure the National Green Tribunal does not

function properly," he said.

Gadgil had done an extensive study on Goa's environment

based on the data provided by iron ore mining companies in

their Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports in 2011.

He had then said the mining companies submitted false

information in their EIA reports.

"In Goa, they had asked me to look into the impact of

mining on the environment. Every EIA suppressed fact about

the hydrological impact of mining," the 73-year-old expert said.

"On `sadas' (plains) of Goa there are a lot of streams

which are originating but they dont mention about them in

their EIA reports. All kind of false statements are made in

these reports," he said.

Gadgil had headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert

Panel (WGEEP) set up by the government.

The WGEEP, in its 2011 report, had recommended that

several areas in Kerala which come under the Western Ghats be

classified as ecologically sensitive.

The panel had recommended strict curbs on mining and

quarrying and on use of land for non-forest purposes.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)