The Bombay High Court at Goa comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta today issued notice to government and to the Ministry of Environment & Forests on a public interest litigation challenging the permissions, approvals and work orders issued for the construction of a tourist resort on the Surla Plateau, located within the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa.
The petition’s primary cause of action arises from a judgment of the Bombay High Court dt. 24.07.2023, which directed the State Government to notify the sanctuary and adjacent sanctuaries as a tiger reserve, following a recommendation from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The PIL alleges that the land designated for the resort lies entirely within the core area of the proposed tiger reserve, an ecologically sensitive region known for its rich biodiversity, including tigers, sloth bears, leopards, pangolins, vipers and over 300 unique plant species.
Despite the absence of any stay on the High Court’s directions by the Supreme Court and the pendency of proceedings seeking Contempt action to be initiated against the State for non-compliance, state authorities such as the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), Goa Forest Development Corporation Ltd (GFDCL), have proceeded to issue approvals and work orders for the resort project, being carried out by a private company, M/s. Fomento Resources Pvt Ltd.
The proposed project is also in flagrant violation of statutory provisions, such as Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which prohibits the destruction or diversion of wildlife habitat within a sanctuary except for the improvement/benefit of the wildlife therein, and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which requires prior approval from the Central Government for any diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
The project’s outlay of nearly Rs. 8 crores for permanent structures and an electric fence to exclude wildlife from the resort area further highlight the prioritization of commercial interests over conservation imperatives. The tourist resort project’s construction would cause irreversible ecological damage to one of Goa’s most sensitive wildlife habitats and is designed to present the Court with a fait accompli, in the teeth of various statutes and the judgment of this court dt. 24.07.2023.
Claude Alvares/Goa Foundation