NGT FREEZES GOA'S PRIVATE FOREST COVER TO 46.11SQ KM; REJECTS GOA GOVT’S PLEA_Prudent Media Goa

Описание: National Green Tribunal has rejected the findings of Goa Government report on forests by D’Souza Committee. Goa government had spent Rs.2 crores 11 lakh in the process of preparing the report. NGT has also ordered Goa government to pay petitioner NGO Goa Foundation the cost of 21-year long litigation.

The National Green Tribunal on 18th August passed the judgment rejecting the report on forests by D’Souza Committee and has ordered finalization of the reports of Sawant and Karapurkar Committees in connection with the identification of private forests in the State.

The Sawant and Karapurkar Committee reports, identifying forests on private lands including comunidades, were completed by 2002 and submitted to the Goa government

The report was prepared following a direction given by the Supreme Court of India on 12.12.1996

Both Committees identified a total of 67.12 sq km of private forests in the state

In 2003, the Goa Foundation moved a petition before the Bombay High Court for demarcation of these forests on the ground, since some of the survey numbers were only partly having forest as per the reports

Pursuant to this petition, the Forest Department undertook physical inspection and demarcation of the identified forest patches

However, its demarcation report produced in 2008 reduced the private forests identified by the S&K reports to 41.20 Sq km

Huge plots belonging to some major reality firms were found excluded from the definition of forest

The Goa Foundation challenged this reduction of the private forest area by a writ petition before the High Court

The High Court transferred the matter to NGT in 2013

In 2016, the NGT directed setting up of a review committee which would survey the disputed areas and submit a report

This committee, headed by Ms Deepshikha Sharma, IFS was set up in 2018

The Sharma Committee examined the S&K reports, and identified, besides the 41.20 Sq km demarcated by the Forest Department, an additional area of 4.91 sq km. Thus the forest area stood at 46.11 sq km.

The Sharma Committee submitted its report on 21.6.2019

Government of Goa did not accept Sharma Committee report and appointed instead one more committee headed by Anthony D’Souza, Joint Secretary, Revenue.

The D’Souza Committee was directed to review the work of the Sharma Committee

Later it was asked to review only the 4.91 sq km additional forest identified by the Sharma Committee.

The NGT had directed the final forest report to be deposited with it by 1.7.2019

However, because of the appointment of the D’Souza Committee, the Goa government was forced to pay Rs.1 crore performance guarantee, Rs.50 lakh as penalty, and Rs.61 lakh additional fines @Rs.10,000 per day (for every day of delay in filing the final report).

The D’Souza Committee excluded only 1.04 sq km from the Sharma Committee report of 4.91 sq km additional area.

The NGT judgment passed on August 18 has refused to accept the D’Souza Committee report

It has accepted Goa Foundation’s plea to approve the area of 46.11 sq km as the final area of private forest as per the S&K reports

Petitioner Goa Foundation pursued these forestry cases from 1999 till 2020, a total of 21 years. Now, the NGT has directed the Goa government to pay the Goa Foundation the costs of the litigation.



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