In a new twist to the turns and bends in the buffer zonecontroversy, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has filed anaffidavit in the Supreme Court stating that a 10 kilometre Eco Sensitive Zone(ESZ) area around all Protected Areas will be operative where no mining or anyother ore extraction related activity will be carried out. MoEF’s proposal tothe Apex Court, a copy of which is available with The Goan, comes on thebackground of Supreme Court appointed Central Powered Committee recommendingbuffer zones not more than one kilometer around national parks and wildlifesanctuary for Goa.
The court had in principle agreed to the CEC’s proposal.Playing down CEC’s recommendations, MoEF states that “the proposed safety zoneshave been made smaller without a substantive and reasonable basis”.
MoEF’s affidavit virtually rubbishes Supreme Court appointedamicus curiae and CEC’s proposal for buffer zones calling it “a convenience ofmanagement than any objective criteria”.
MoEF’s new card, the Eco Sensitive Zone is a detailedprocess that it has proposed to the Apex Court in its affidavit. The Ministryhas set a time limit of 545 days for completion of setting up of Eco SensitiveZones starting June 28 this year. The detailed process involves framing ofproposals by State Forests Department, scrutiny by MoEF, public hearing andfinal notification by MoEF. The tagging of ESZ’s to mining is a new developmentthat is bringing back through the backdoor the case for a 10 kilometre corridoraround wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in any state.
For Goa, it threatens to further lengthen the delay inrestarting its closed industry. What is concerning though is the MOEFs standthat states' governments haven’t responded in this issue. The MoEF has proposedto the Apex Court that In a 12 page affidavit, sworn by Vivek Saxena, DeputyInspector General (Wildlife), MoEF has said that it has not received anycomments or views from any of the state governments, despite the circulation ofCEC’s recommendations for buffer zones.
This however, seems blatantly incorrect as far as Goa isconcerned since Government of Goa had informed him as early as October 18 ofits’ decision on buffer zones. The letter from Principal Secretary Mines RajnikantVerma to Saxena says that “buffer zone as recommended by CEC should be adoptedfor the State of Goa”.
MoEF’s affi davit to the Supreme Court in the wake of CEC’svisit to Goa could well be a spanner in the works for Goa’s mining industry.The CEC, which was in Goa last week, had specifically examined the veracity ofJustice M B Shah Commission’s Report on Illegal Mining in Goa. The Committeehad also met the various stakeholders of the industry that supports almost 30% ofthe Goan population.
