Goa mogi gather outside the Forest department offices at Altinho to protest against the mass cutting down of trees at the Mollem wildlife sanctuary, their placards say it all! Are we Mother Earth’s enemies or friends? Are we Goa’s enemies or friends?
By Pankajbala R Patel
Hundreds and thousands of Goans and NGO groups and even a few people’s politicians have been calling for a halt to tree felling on large scale in the small state of Goa, but is Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s government listening?
IT was yet another one of the scores of meetings taking place all over Goa in recent times to protest against a kind of progress which will spell out a hotter and waterless Goa in future. But who cares? Does the government of Goa care, does the Forest department of Goa care? It was yet another poignant scene outside the Forest department offices up at Altinho in Panaji on Monday, December 7, 2020 where almost 500 Goans of the Goencho Ekvott and Goyant Kollso Naka and other Goa mogi had gathered to meet and submit a memorandum to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Subhash Chandra.
The placards in the hands of the protestors summed it all up: PCCF and DCF: Which Planet Are You On?’ Public Interest or Private Greed?’PCCF & DCF Cutting One Lakh Trees for Transmission Line.’ `Western Ghats Cannot Be Destroyed by Blind Fools!’ And many more. Clearly it is a growing loud NO to the double tracking of the South Western railways and laying of a 400Kv substation in the Mollem wildlife sanctuary witnessing large scale cutting down of protected forest trees for three projects which reportedly will hurt the small state of Goa majorly.
So much so hundreds and thousands of Goans and NGO groups have taken up the call to stop Goa and its climate from being affected by the retrogressive policies of development and progress which have been under scrutiny for some time now. But is the government of Goa taking any notice? Projects which entail the cutting down of thousands of protected forestland trees is akin to adding to the woes of global warming or should we say India warming, and specifically in this case Goa warming – and that too all in the interests of private profit at public misery!
Goa is on its way to water woes and climbing temperature but a seemingly progressive BJP government can’t see beyond its blinkers of obsolete progress and development! The Central and State governments are behaving like the erstwhile British East India Company of British colonial times in India! Goencho leader Abhijit Prabhudesi says this is nothing but the truth if you can see it, he was there to lead the small group allowed to meet the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Subhash Chandra to submit a memorandum.
The memorandum appealed to the forest authorities not to be a party to the destruction of the protected Mollem forests, reminding them that they are supposed to be saving forests instead turning a blind eye to such mass scale forest destruction. It is something which is bound to send of a chain reaction detrimental to the survival of vital resources sustaining wildlife and the village communities of Goa.
Witness the thousands of pristine plateau land trees which have already been cut down in Goa in the name of Mopa Airport development. And now comes this targeting of Mollem forested lands in the name of double tracking of South Western railway and laying a 400 Kv transmission line a power plant amidst lush green forestland. How will this impact the quality of life for Goans? Who will benefit and who will pay the price in terms of deteriorating quality of life vis-à-vis primary resources of air, earth and water?
The Save Mollem protesters are especially fierce since this will in turn affect the larger protected forest lands of the entire Western Ghats eco-system in Goa. Permissions and licenses may have been granted while few asked questions, but say many gen next activists who’ve been participating in a spate of protests — look at the inconsistencies and flawed thinking in the environmental assessments carried out hastily during the Covi-19 lockdowns, when purportedly everything else was on hold.
As many as 150 scientists have written letters to the government expressing serious concern about the substation in Sangod where the 400Kv transmission line is violating a 2015 Supreme Court order stating that if a piece of land over 1 Ha has a canopy density of 0.1 or above, then the trees may not be cut down. Here we have an area of 11 Ha with a canopy density of 0.7 and now the project is on hold but 2,760 trees have already been cut down!
The Goyant Kollso Naka and Goencho Ekvott groups have been protesting peacefully to date but it is anyone guess when more Goans will join forces with them to stop so called progress and development determined to compromise and destroy Goa’s famed holiday state reputation quite precisely based on the primary reasons that in Goa the air is worth breathing and there is little air pollution in keeping with its predominantly agricultural status.
It’s is ironic that all the big shots of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore want second homes in Goa to come and holiday and recover from big city urban blues in Goa (for its superior quality of air, earth and green cover) – and this includes the political bigwigs of the Central government! But every time the big shot VVIPs and VIPS come with a bowing and scraping State government eager to curry favor, the people of Goa can’t miss it. There are also the business lobbies high up who want to develop Goa saying its infrastructure is poor, power connections dismal and there is not enough power to light up the party zones and fuel industrial estates to full capacity.
However, Goa’s story is still about putting the carts before the horse of any real progress and development. Many Goans still do not have assured water and power supply at home or a dependable round the clock economical public transport system out on the streets. There are lots of casinos of course to lure upmarket filthy rich and not so rich gamblers!
As it is the traditional agriculture-rooted green fields of Goa are stagnating and dying with the barren fields filling up with construction rubble of the building lobbies and plastic wastes of the people…so why not just pour concrete and put up more cheek by jowl high rise buildings for “outsiders” who don’t see beyond the realities of Goa and get superficially enchanted by its heritage and green haven charms. So different from Mumbai and Delhi where they say “We cannot breathe, the ozone quality in Goa is better!”
In the same breath Gujarati trillionaires like Gautam Adani and the Jindal Group have been calling all the shots to invest in an infrastructure they seek for their own private benefits but will in the short and long run take a toll on the tranquil, green Goa which so many tourists love to come to. When Goa’s forests are cut and its river water stolen away by neighboring states and the temperature climbs to make life more hell than heaven, what will the people of Goa do for their livelihood and peace of mind?
The questions are finally being asked: Is the government of Goa an enemy of the people of Goa or only Goa? Can’t it stand up to the diktats of a blinded by power Central government hell bent on stepping into the erstwhile footsteps of the British East India Company long since gone with the wind — but back in power or so it would seem in different mode to fool, con and ring the death knell for its own people?
It is not without just reason that the people of Goa are calling for the withdrawal of the three key projects already under way and which threaten the wellbeing of Goans small and big in the short and long run. Support them, support them, support them and pray that no harm befalls them. Say Yes to public interest but No to private greed!
MOLLEM LICENSE ILLEGAL
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
BOMBAY AT GOA
LD-VC-CW NO. 321 OF 2020
- Mr. Krishna Zore,
S/o. Chandrakant Zore,
Major of Age,
Indian National.
Resident of House No.254/1,
Palaskata, Molem,
Dharbandora, Goa. - Mr. Kanta Shelke,
S/o. Janu Shelke
Major of Age,
Indian National.
Resident of House No.246,
Palaskata, Molem,
Dharbandora, Goa. - Mr. Uttam Shelke,
s/o Bomo Shelke
Major of Age,
Indian National.
Resident of House No.244/1,
Palaskata, Molem,
Dharbandora, Goa. - Mr. Antonio Mario Barreto
s/o Paulo Barreto,
Major of age,
Indian National,
Resident of House No.62,
Bazar Vaddo, Molem,
Dharbandora, Goa. … Petitioners V e r s u s - The Village Panchayat of Molem,
Through its Secretary
Molem, Tal
Dharbandora, Goa. - The Town Planner
Town & Country Planning
Department
Quepem, Goa. - The State of Goa,
Through its Chief Secretary,
Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa. - M/s. Goa Tamnar
Transmission Project Ltd.
Through its Director
with its Registered office at F-1,
The Mira Corporate Suits,
Ishwar Nagar, Mathura Road,
New Delhi. - The Sarpanch
Village Panchayat of Molem,
Molem, Tal
Dharbandora, Goa.
… Respondents
Mr. Gauresh Malik, Advocate holding for Mr. Nigel Da Costa Frias, Advocate for the Petitioners.
Mr. D. Pangam, Advocate General with Mr. P. Arolkar, Additional Government Advocate for the Respondent nos. 2 and 3.
Mr. A. D. Bhobe and Ms. Annelise Fernandes, Advocate for the Respondent no. 4.
Mr. R. G. Ramani, Senior Advocate with Mr. B. Thali, Advocate for the Respondent nos.1 and 5.
Coram :- M. S. SONAK &
M. S. JAWALKAR, JJ.
Date : 7 th December, 2020
ORAL JUDGMENT
(Per M. S. Sonak, J.)
- Heard Mr. Gauresh Malik, learned Counsel for the petitioners, Mr. D. Pangam, learned Advocate General for the respondent nos.2 and 3, Mr. R. G. Ramani, learned Senior Advocate for the respondent nos. 1 and 5 and Mr. A. D. Bhobe, learned Counsel for the respondent no.4.
- We issue Rule in this matter and make the Rule returnable forthwith at the request and consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.
- The petitioners by instituting the present petition, seek the following substantive reliefs :
“(i) For an appropriate writ, order or direction thereby quashing the Construction license issued to Respondent no. 4 by the Sarpanch of Village Panchayat Molem dated 05/10/2020 at exhibit F to the petition.
(ii) For a writ of Mandamus or a writ in the nature of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction thereby directing the Village Panchayat of Molem – Tal to place the application of respondent no.4 before the Gram Sabha for discussion and deliberation as per the resolution of the Panchayat body dated 11/09/2020. - Mr. Malik Gauresh, the learned Counsel for the petitioners, at the very outset, submits that the construction license issued to respondent no.4 on 05.10.2020 has been issued by the Sarpanch of the Village Panchayat of Mollem in his personal capacity without there being any resolution of the Panchayat to the same. He submits that there are several reasons which render this license illegal and invalid. He submits that the application of respondent no.4 for construction ought to have been placed before the Gram Sabha for discussions and deliberation in terms of Panchayat’s resolution dated 11.09.2020. For all these reasons, he submits that the construction permission dated 05.10.2020 is liable to be set aside and Mr. Ramani, the learned Senior Advocate very fairly pointed out that there is no resolution of the Panchayat relatable to the construction license dated 05.10.2020.
- Mr. Bhobe, the learned Counsel for the respondent no.4, submits that there is no infirmity of the issuance of the construction license since the construction proposed is in accordance with law.
- According to us, the Sarpanch, could not by himself, have issued the construction license dated 05.10.2020, without any backing of the resolution of the Panchayat. No provision has been brought to our notice under which the Sarpanch could have issued such construction license by making use of the letterhead of the Panchayat.
- Section 47 of the Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, inter alia, provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the said application and rules framed thereunder, the Secretary is also empowered to exercise the powers on matters, inter alia, relating to issue of license for construction, etc. in pursuance of the resolution of the Panchayat. On this short ground and without going into any other further grounds raised by Mr. Malik, the construction license dated 05.10.2020 issued to the respondent no.4 is liable to be set aside and is hereby set aside.
- Insofar as prayer clause (ii) is concerned, at this stage, by reserving the rights and contentions of all parties, we only direct that the application of respondent no.4 for construction license be disposed-off by the competent authorities on their own merits and in accordance with law. We once again, make it clear that all rights and contentions of all the parties in this regard are expressly kept open.
- Rule in this petition is disposed-off in the aforesaid terms.
- There shall be no order as to costs.
- All concerned to act on the basis of an authenticated copy of this order.
M. S. JAWALKAR,
J. M. S. SONAK, J.