Panaji: The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA), at its recent meeting, decided to review the status of the submission of half-yearly environment clearance (EC) compliance reports by projects that had been granted approvals in 2023. After carrying out the review, the Goa-SEIAA warned project proponents that fines will be imposed on those who have failed to submit their EC compliance reports and has called on such projects to submit the reports immediately.A notification dated Nov 26, 2018, issued by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has made it mandatory for project proponents to submit half-yearly compliance reports. These reports ensure that the project proponents are meeting the conditions set in the environment impact assessment (EIA), such as mitigation measures to reduce air and water pollution, among others. These conditions are set while granting the EC to various types of projects.A basalt stone quarry and an industrial unit were found to have failed to submit their compliance reports during the Goa-SEIAA’s recent review.“After deliberations, the authority decided that project proponents who have failed to submit the mandatory half-yearly EC compliance reports shall be fined and directed to submit the latest compliance reports at the earliest,” the authority said at its meeting.Last April, the Goa-SEIAA had decided to hike the fine imposed on project proponents for not submitting their half-yearly compliance reports on time, as required by the respective projects’ EC conditions. The fine has been hiked from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000. The hike in the fine came after four years.It was first in Nov 2021 that the Goa-SEIAA noted that many project proponents were not meeting its requirements. This led the authority to impose a fine of Rs 15,000 at its meeting in Jan 2022.
