Railway line to road, Centre clears 3 projects, Goa board says we were used as puppets

A Railway line, a highway and a power transmission line — since December and during the lockdown, the Centre has cleared three key Goa projects claiming a state panel had approved it. But now at least six members of that panel have come out to say they are unaware of the clearance and have red-flagged their environmental concerns. A Supreme Court panel has taken note, too.

Double-tracking of a showpiece 120-year-old rail line from Karnataka’s Hospet to Vasco; laying down a 400-kv power transmission line and four-laning of the existing NH 4A are the three projects cleared by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) headed by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.