The three linear projects that would pass through the Mollem forests suffered a major setback at the hands of the Supreme Court (SC)-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), a decision that has been hailed by environmentalists across the State.
It may be recalled that several organisations in the State, including youth-based groups have been carrying out sustained mass protests in every corner of Goa for over a year now against these three infrastructure projects, namely: the railway double-tracking, Tamnar power project and widening of the national highway.
The CEC decision has been viewed as a major victory to their efforts.
The CEC has recommended cancellation of the decision of the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) approving the doubling of the rail track from Tinai Ghat via Castle Rock to Vasco da Gama town. It has recommended that the Sterlite Tamnar 400 Kv High Tension Line be asked to get out of the virgin part of the wildlife sanctuary and move to the alignment laid down for a 110 kV line in 1966. It has accepted the argument of the Goa Foundation that the NH4A road expansion project cannot proceed without an Environment Clearance.
Incidentally, the decisions to grant these approvals were taken a meeting of the Standing Committee of the NBWL, which was chaired by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar.
The CEC has written to the Registrar of the SC on April 23, 2021, asking him to place its report, with its recommendations, before the Apex Court. The report is based on a complaint dated June 26, 2020 filed by Goa Foundation that had alleged violation of the SC order dated October 5, 2015 and related intervention applications in writ petition regarding matters relating to the National Park ( Wildlife Sanctuaries) and contravention of the Wild Life (Protection), 1972, in granting clearance by the Standing Committee of NBWL in respect of three linear infrastructure projects within the boundaries of Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in the State of Goa.
CEC does not find any justification for undertaking a project of this nature which will destroy the fragile eco-system of the Western Ghats which is an internationally recognised biodiversity hot spot and also one of the most important wildlife corridor of the country.
Moreover, this doubling project will only be marginally enhancing the capacity of the most inefficient section of the railway network passing through ecologically sensitive and bio-diversity rich tiger reserve, two wildlife sanctuaries and a national park.
In these circumstances it is recommended for the consideration of this Hon’ble Court to revoke the permission granted by the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SC NBWL) for doubling of the railway track passing through the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats from Tinaighat-Castlerock in Karnataka to Kulem in Goa involving 120.875 ha of land (protected area 113.857 ha and non-protected area Reserved Forest 7.108 ha) from the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary (BMWLS) in the State of Goa and 10.45 ha (9.57 ha Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and 0.88 ha in Haliyal Forest Division) in the State of Karnataka vide minutes of the 56th meeting of the SC NBWL in violation of the guidelines issued by the MoEF&CC under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and in violation of Hon’ble Supreme Court order 5.10.2015 and without considering the justification for the doubling of the most inefficient railway line with 1:37 gradient and with severe restrictions on movement of trains and without considering the availability of alternative railway routes as well as alternative modes of transport.
