Structured Summary of the Judgment (per F. M. Reis, J.)

Factual and Procedural Background

This writ petition was preferred in public interest challenging the use of industrial slag for construction of an approach road/bridge at Assolna (connecting Assolna to Cavelossim) located near paddy fields and approximately ten metres from the river Sal. The petitioners alleged that respondent No. 5 was using industrial slag (allegedly from steel manufacturing units in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate) to level and line the unpaved approach road to the bridge, and that this use had been permitted or allowed by concerned authorities without scientific analysis or certification of safety. The petitioners raised environmental concerns (possibility of pollutants, toxic and hazardous compounds reaching ground level and contaminating the river Sal) and sought writs (including mandamus) to prevent such use until certified safe by a competent expert body (notably respondent No. 2).

Procedurally, respondent No. 2 (Goa State Pollution Control Board) filed an affidavit attaching correspondence and reports (including a Central Pollution Control Board letter and a feasibility study/report from the Central Road Research Institute), and the court considered those materials before delivering judgment. The petition was ultimately disposed of by the court.

Legal Issues Presented

1. Whether the use of industrial (steel/induction furnace/ferro manganese) slag for construction of the Assolna–Cavelossim approach road/bridge, in the absence of the petitioners' independent scientific approval, posed a sufficient environmental threat to warrant intervention by writ (including a prohibition on such use).
2. Whether the concerned authorities (respondent Nos. 1 to 3) acted negligently in permitting or failing to prevent the use of industrial slag without scientific analysis or certification.
3. Whether the No Objection Certificate issued by respondent No. 2 (Goa State Pollution Control Board), issued after considering the Central Pollution Control Board communication and the Central Road Research Institute feasibility study/report, justified permitting the use of the slag for the specified construction activity.

Arguments of the Parties

Petitioners' Arguments

• The use of industrial slag was being carried out indiscriminately for construction of the approach road/bridge adjacent to paddy fields and close to river Sal, without scientific analysis or certification of safety.
• The slag, believed to originate from steel manufacturing units in Cuncolim Industrial Estate, may contain pollutants, toxic and hazardous compounds capable of contaminating ground and river water (specifically the river Sal).
• The petitioners requested that a competent authority (for example, the Goa State Pollution Control Board) certify the slag as safe before any use; in the absence of such certification they sought writ relief (including mandamus) to prevent its use.
• They relied on complaints from local residents and inspections that allegedly revealed foul-smelling material and the presence of industrial slag being dumped and used at the site.

Respondent No. 2's (Goa State Pollution Control Board) Statements / Affidavit

• Produced a letter dated 6.9.2007 from the Central Pollution Control Board stating that concentrations of all heavy metals in samples of slag collected from induction furnace/submerged arc furnace units were within permissible limits.
• Stated that it had requested the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, to carry out a feasibility study on the use of steel slag in embankments and pavement layers; CRRI submitted a final report dated 13.8.2010.
• Summarized the CRRI conclusion that utilization of steel slag in embankment, sub-grade and granular sub-base layers is beneficial—avoiding waste accumulation and reducing need for mining, and that its utilization in roads is strongly recommended.
• On the basis of the CPCB letter and the CRRI feasibility study/report, respondent No. 2 issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for utilisation of induction furnace slag/ferro manganese slag for the Assolna–Cavelossim bridge construction (limited to that project in Navelim constituency).

Table of Precedents Cited

No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court's reasoning proceeded from a review of the material placed on record, especially the affidavit and its attachments filed by respondent No. 2. The court noted and relied on three key documentary elements produced by respondent No. 2:

• The Central Pollution Control Board communication (dated 6.9.2007) indicating that heavy metal concentrations in analyzed slag samples from induction furnace/submerged arc furnace units were within permissible limits.
• The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) final report (dated 13.8.2010) assessing feasibility and strongly recommending the utilization of steel slag in construction of embankments, sub-grade and granular sub-base layers, citing environmental and resource-conservation benefits.
• The Goa State Pollution Control Board's issuance of a No Objection Certificate (dated 23.8.2010) for the use of induction furnace slag/ferro manganese slag in the specific Assolna–Cavelossim bridge construction in Navelim constituency, issued in view of the CPCB and CRRI materials.

Applying these materials to the petitioners' allegations, the court concluded:

• The petitioners' apprehension of indiscriminate or unsafe use of industrial slag for the unpaved approach road is not substantiated on the record before the court.
• A detailed analysis (by the CPCB/CRRI/Goa SPCB) had been made prior to permitting the use; the petitioners failed to produce any material to disapprove the findings in the respondents' reports or to demonstrate that the slag's use would contaminate the river Sal.
• Accordingly, the court found that the use of such slag for the Assolna–Cavelossim bridge project could not be said to be without the necessary permission from the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
• Other broader grievances (for example, an asserted general ban on the use of industrial slag or wider rights-related claims) could not be considered in the present petition in the absence of evidential material showing adverse environmental impact; the court indicated those issues could only be considered if sufficient material were produced on that count.

Holding and Implications

DISPOSED OF — The writ petition was disposed of by the court, with no order as to costs.

Implications and direct effects:

• The court refused the petitioners' request for a writ restraining the use of the industrial slag in the Assolna–Cavelossim bridge project, effectively allowing the project to proceed insofar as it had the No Objection Certificate by the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
• The court's dispositional outcome rests on the documentary record produced by respondent No. 2 (CPCB communication, CRRI feasibility report, and the Goa SPCB NOC); the court emphasized that the petitioners produced no material to rebut those findings.
• The court did not adjudicate broader policy questions or general bans on slag use; it made clear such broader grievances were not decided and could be considered in future only if the petitioners produce sufficient material demonstrating adverse environmental impact.
• No new precedent or novel legal principle was declared by the court in this opinion beyond the disposition based on the documents and factual matrix before it.

Final court notation: The judgment is authored per F. M. Reis, J., and the order was rendered with the concurrence of D. G. Karnik, J., and F. M. Reis, J.