Tension in India over plan to turn Goa into coal hub
The projects affect an area recognized by Unesco as one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity, which includes the Dudhsagar Falls. (
Environmentalists and politicians in Goa, India, known globally for its beaches and dense forests, are opposing a plan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to turn the southwestern coastal state into a coal transportation hub.
Protests against the initiative began last year, when New Delhi unveiled three infrastructure projects to increase coking coal handling at the state-run Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Goa. The proposed developments include the expansion of a highway, railway, and a power transmission network, which locals claim would cut through ecologically sensitive areas, such as the Mollem National Park.