The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for construction of an international airport at Mopa in Goa by lifting the suspension on environmental clearance (EC) granted for the project, which would be spread over 2,131 acres.

The top court in March last year had suspended the EC granted for the greenfield airport and directed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to revisit the decision in light of its impact on the ecology there.

The need for a new airport was buttressed as the passenger traffic at Goa was expected to rise in the upcoming financial years -- 12 million passengers by 2021 to 17.9 million by 2025 -- and the existing airport at Dabolim is a defence establishment which is closed to area traffic between 8.30 am and 1.30 pm daily.

Though Goa is one of the most sought after international tourist destinations in India, international charter flights are not granted parking facilities at night at Dabolim airport due to capacity constraints.

While lifting suspension on EC, bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta noted assurance tendered on behalf of concessionaire GMR Goa International Airport Limited that it will adopt “zero carbon programme” both in the construction and operational phases of the airport.

“We accept undertaking of concessionaire and issue a direction for compliance,” the bench said, adding, “The suspension on the EC shall accordingly stand lifted.”

The top court appointed the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to oversee compliance with the directions issued by it in the matter and said the “project proponent shall bear the costs, expenses and fees of NEERI”.