PANAJI
More than 40 environmental groups and civil society organisations have come together to jointly condemn the central government's move to reshuffle the National Green Tribunal's jurisdiction bringing Goa under the ambit of the principal bench of the NGT in New Delhi rather than Pune where it currently lay.
With the victory of the Goa Against Coal movement fresh in their minds, after it was the NGT at Pune that ordered that a public hearing be held before the environmental clearance for MPT's expansion projects fresh in their minds, the movement was led by Edwin Mascarenhas of the Goa Against Coal movement, who sought to highlight the utter madness of the decision.
"What we could earlier do with a night's journey and spending a few days in Pune will now take several days of travel and much more money than what we can currently afford," Mascarenhas said.
He said that the move would not only affect activists and those who have Goa at their heart, but also officials of the state pollution control board, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority as well as others who would now have to abandon their posts and spend much more time and money representing their cases in Delhi.
"Should the government departments be closed during this time period? Whose money is going to be spent on their travel and who will bear the cost of their absence at their government departments?" Mascarenhas questioned.
Adding to his voice, Adv Ohm Stanley Rodrigues quoted past Supreme Court judgements to state that the decision was ultra vires of the constitution.
"This notification is unreasonably, illogical, arbitrary and moreover so bad in law that it will not stand the legal scrutiny in a court of law. I will also further say that this is violative of our fundamental rights," Adv Rodrigues said.
"Denial of access to justice is violative of article 14 and article 21. Article 14 -- equality before law and equal opportunity before law. Article 21 -- right to life. When you deny someone access to justice, the quality of life is compromised. It affects negatively," Adv Rodrigues said.
Citing a verdict of the constitution bench of the Supreme Court, Adv Rodrigues said: "The state must provide an effective adjudicatory mechanism. The process of adjudication must be speedy and the mechanism so provided must be reasonably accessible in terms of distance. Litigants access to their adjudicatory process must be affordable."
"When you take it from Pune to Delhi you are violating this concept," Adv Rodrigues said.
"All other states are within geographical areas are within their jurisdiction. Only Goa has been shifted from West Zone to Delhi. There is a clear malafide intention of the government which is so apparent," he said.
"We have full faith in the judiciary, it will be thrown out. If the govt has any sense they will withdraw this notification immediately and restore Goa back to its jurisdiction of Pune," he said adding that it was a watershed moment when 40 organisations have come together to speak in one voice against the blatant and brazen attempt of denying justice to the common man.
"The threat to the people from the Government's malafide intentions must also be removed. We therefore demand that the State and Union Governments must see reason and not only restore the jurisdiction of the Pune bench of the NGT over Goan matters, but also correct their attitude towards the people, the environment and the future generations, failing which the people will be forced to remain in a state of war against the destructive forces unleashed upon us," the groups said in a joint statement.
More than 40 environmental groups and civil society organisations have come together to jointly condemn the central government's move to reshuffle the National Green Tribunal's jurisdiction bringing Goa under the ambit of the principal bench of the NGT in New Delhi rather than Pune where it currently lay.
With the victory of the Goa Against Coal movement fresh in their minds, after it was the NGT at Pune that ordered that a public hearing be held before the environmental clearance for MPT's expansion projects fresh in their minds, the movement was led by Edwin Mascarenhas of the Goa Against Coal movement, who sought to highlight the utter madness of the decision.
"What we could earlier do with a night's journey and spending a few days in Pune will now take several days of travel and much more money than what we can currently afford," Mascarenhas said.
He said that the move would not only affect activists and those who have Goa at their heart, but also officials of the state pollution control board, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority as well as others who would now have to abandon their posts and spend much more time and money representing their cases in Delhi.
"Should the government departments be closed during this time period? Whose money is going to be spent on their travel and who will bear the cost of their absence at their government departments?" Mascarenhas questioned.
Adding to his voice, Adv Ohm Stanley Rodrigues quoted past Supreme Court judgements to state that the decision was ultra vires of the constitution.
"This notification is unreasonably, illogical, arbitrary and moreover so bad in law that it will not stand the legal scrutiny in a court of law. I will also further say that this is violative of our fundamental rights," Adv Rodrigues said.
"Denial of access to justice is violative of article 14 and article 21. Article 14 -- equality before law and equal opportunity before law. Article 21 -- right to life. When you deny someone access to justice, the quality of life is compromised. It affects negatively," Adv Rodrigues said.
Citing a verdict of the constitution bench of the Supreme Court, Adv Rodrigues said: "The state must provide an effective adjudicatory mechanism. The process of adjudication must be speedy and the mechanism so provided must be reasonably accessible in terms of distance. Litigants access to their adjudicatory process must be affordable."
"When you take it from Pune to Delhi you are violating this concept," Adv Rodrigues said.
"All other states are within geographical areas are within their jurisdiction. Only Goa has been shifted from West Zone to Delhi. There is a clear malafide intention of the government which is so apparent," he said.
"We have full faith in the judiciary, it will be thrown out. If the govt has any sense they will withdraw this notification immediately and restore Goa back to its jurisdiction of Pune," he said adding that it was a watershed moment when 40 organisations have come together to speak in one voice against the blatant and brazen attempt of denying justice to the common man.
"The threat to the people from the Government's malafide intentions must also be removed. We therefore demand that the State and Union Governments must see reason and not only restore the jurisdiction of the Pune bench of the NGT over Goan matters, but also correct their attitude towards the people, the environment and the future generations, failing which the people will be forced to remain in a state of war against the destructive forces unleashed upon us," the groups said in a joint statement.
