PANAJI
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Goa government in an application filed seeking quashing of the environmental clearances for sand mining activities in River Mandovi.
The notice, returnable within two weeks, was issued on June 16 to the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) and the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) in an application filed by the Goa River Sand Protection Network (GRSPN).
The Western Bench chaired by Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and Expert Member Dr Vijai Kulkarni has listed the matter for hearing on July 14.
The applicant has pleaded for quashing of the EC granted by SEIAA on February 3, 2025 to DMG for extraction of sand in Zone 5 that is near Khandola, in Ponda taluka, in River Mandovi for the proposed area of 4.3 Ha with extraction capacity of 1000 Cubic metre per annum per permit by traditional method.
The applicant said that the area in question is falling within CRZ IV-B i.e. Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA), wherein sand mining is prohibited as per the CRZ Notification, 2011 and that EC has been granted in violation of the CRZ norms.
The GRSPN said that as per CRZ notification 2011, prior recommendation of the Coastal Zone Management Authority is must before any application for an EC can be considered by the SEIAA.
“In view of above, we direct the Registry to issue notice to the respondents on delay condonation application, returnable within 02(two) weeks,” the bench said.
The State government had last month approached the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) demanding relaxation via an amendment to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notifications of 2011 and 2019, allowing sand extraction.
