Cuncolim municipal council rejects fish meal plant proposal

Margao: The Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC) on Tuesday rejected a proposal for a new fish meal plant, with all 14 councillors registering their opposition to the controversial project during a special meeting that drew significant public attention.The decision comes after mounting opposition from locals who endured pollution-related issues from an existing fish meal plant operating within the Cuncolim industrial estate for over a decade.CMC chairperson Landry Mascarenhas said that the council decided to reject the application for the second fish meal plant “in the interest of our people”. “Cuncolim residents have been battling pollution from the existing fish meal plant and the fish processing plants over the last decade,” he said, adding that the general sentiment of the people of Cuncolim was against any more fish plants.The meeting was called to decide on the application seeking a no objection certificate to establish a factory building for the proposed plant.The controversy over the proposed second fish meal plant in Cuncolim has intensified opposition to the existing one, with residents and activists questioning how the current plant continues operations despite accusations of air and water pollution.Local residents, who launched sustained campaigns against pollution-causing industries, welcomed the CMC’s decision. “The effluents of the fish meal plant will find their way into the fields of Cuncolim, destroy our agriculture and sully water bodies,” a resident said.