Home / Jan 03- Jan 09, 2026 / LAW / GOA IS TURNING INTO A COAL HUB! By Dr Olav Albuquerque
GOA IS TURNING INTO A COAL HUB! By Dr Olav Albuquerque
No Comments on GOA IS TURNING INTO A COAL HUB! By Dr Olav Albuquerque

GOA IS TURNING INTO A COAL HUB! By Dr Olav Albuquerque

Jan 03- Jan 09, 2026, LAW January 2, 2026 , by

DESPITE the Goa government clarifying that no capacity expansion of coal transportation will be allowed, Opposition parties have alleged that the project is intended to convert Goa into a coal hub. The legal conundrum that has arisen is whether the Railways, which come under the Union government, can destroy the ecology of Goa without obtaining all necessary approvals.
 On August 31, 2025 the Railway Ministry’s official X handle (@RailMinIndia) put out a post on the benefits of the ongoing Hosapete-Hubballi-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco-Da-Gama track-doubling project. The 363-km project will “speed up coal, iron ore and steel transportation in the region” and “boost tourism to Goa & Hampi,” the post claimed.
However, environmental activists in Goa have alleged that the double-tracking will benefit only the Adani group of companies in moving coal between Vaso da Gama to other places for industrial use. The wagons are covered with canvas sheets but the fine coal dust settles on the fields along the track, destroying the environment and posing a health hazard for those living in ancestral houses along the tracks.

ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE CHANDOR
CHANDOR, an ecologically sensitive village which was the seat of the Kadamba dynasty of yore, has been affected, with Goan environmentalists opposing the double-tracking and even midnight vigils taking place. Now, the gram sabhas have quieted down, especially after the sub-way below the railway tracks was built at Chandor. The railway station has been rebuilt three times during the last 50 years, the old ramshackle heritage structure torn down and a new railway station built. The new railway station has been built on the Guirdolim side with an over-bridge connecting Cavorim with Guirdolim.
However, the aforesaid seemingly innocuous and routine tweet on development work, has stirred up much trouble in the tiny coastal state of Goa, with the Opposition up in arms and civil society members hitting the streets in protest.

EMBARRASSMENT ALL AROUND
THE reaction was strong enough for the Railway Ministry to delete the post from its X handle. An embarrassed BJP, which is the ruling party in the state, is now trying to handle the fallout.
Goa is small and different. One highway displaces a huge volume. Imagine the lost volumes for a multi-laned highway, railway, water-way and air ways. What clean natural volume is left for normal life?
These protests are reminiscent of the mass agitations held in Goa during the laying of the Konkan Railway line. The alignment of the Konkan Railway line was strongly because it would destroy the sensitive khazan lands which provides sustenance to lakhs of farmers in this coastal state. Finally, the matter was resolved. What cannot be understood is why no double-tracks were laid between railway stations to permit superfast express trains plying between Mumbai, Delhi, Kerala and Mangalore to pass each other along the tracks without waiting at the railway stations for another train to pass.

But the South Central Raiwlay line between Vasco da Gama and Londa in Karnataka, which meanders through the Dudhsagar Waterfalls and Castle Rock railway station is a different kettle of fish. This line was laid by the Portuguese over 150 years ago and is still is use. The same track was used before the 1990s to travel between Goa and Bombay as it was earlier known, but after the Konkan Railway was completed, this line has been used by goods trains and express trains passing through Goa and Karnataka.

HISTORICAL CASTLE ROCK
INCIDENTALLY, Castle Rock was an international border between Portuguese Goa and British India, where those entering Goa had to show their passports after de-training. Portuguese officials would stamp these passports to allow Goans to enter their own home territory. However, this piquant railway station has not been very well maintained.
A very old railway bungalow which must be at least 200 years old stands some distance away from the railway tracks at Dudhsagar station. This is a heritage structure which should be preserved for posterity like the old Goan churches built by the Portuguese. But whether the Pramod Sawant-led government will do anything in this regard, is doubtful.

No related posts.

Search

Back to Top