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Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday reiterated there would be no enhancement of the coal-carrying capacity at Mormugao Port after a land acquisition notification for a double-tracking project of the railways sparked a furore.
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Sawant’s office issued a statement calling the reports of additional land acquisition “incorrect”. It added that only “limited” land was being acquired. The statement cited Rail Vikas Nigam Limited’s clarification and said the limited acquisition of 0.6 hectares initiated in Cansaulim, Sancoale, and Issorcim villages is solely for banking/stabilisation support to safeguard nearby houses, road access to landowners, and correction of alignment mismatches identified in earlier surveys.
It added that the project will facilitate tourism development and the faster movement of existing freight, including coal, in a manner that reduces incidental pollution by decreasing exposure time. The statement said no capacity expansion of coal transportation would be permitted. Sawant on Monday said the amount of coal being handled will not change.
In a tweet on Sunday, the railways ministry claimed the track doubling project between Hosapete, formerly Hospet, in Karnataka, and Vasco-da-Gama in Goa would speed up “coal, iron ore and steel transportation in the region”. As much as 312 km of the project on the Karnataka side has been commissioned.
The tweet sparked a political storm. “Goans have consistently opposed the destructive double-tracking project. The Congress stands firmly with the people in this fight and will continue to resist any attempt to turn Goa into a coal hub,” said state Congress chief Amit Patkar.
He accused Sawant of misleading the people of Goa and claiming the project was for tourism growth. “The central government has now revealed its true purpose – coal transportation.”
The port handled 10.6 million metric tons of coal in 2024-25. In 2010, the railways sanctioned the doubling of the Hospet-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line in Karnataka and Goa.
The first phase of the project between Hospet and Tinai Ghat involved easier terrain atop the largely flat Deccan plateau. It has been completed.
The second phase between Tinaighat and Vasco da Gama involves steep slopes, rivers, the thick forests of the Western Ghats, and densely populated areas of coastal Goa.
The expansion project proposed a second track alongside the existing line between Goa’s Mormugao Port at Tinaighat in Karnataka. The National Board for Wildlife approved the project in April 2020, triggering protests. Residents said that the expansion will pave the way for additional coal transport between the port and steel plants in Karnataka.
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