the goan I network
PANAJI
The National Green Tribunal has warned the Ministry of Environment and Forests of withholding the salary of an advisor over repeated delays in finalising the Ecosensitive Zones (ESZ) of the Western Ghats.
While setting a fresh deadline of March 2020, the Principal Bench of the NGT warned that they would treat the draft notification as final if the deadline was not met.
Hearing a petition filed by the Goa Foundation, the NGT bench of Adarsh Kumar Goel, SP Wangdi, K Ramakrishnan, Dr Nagin Nanda and Saibal Dasgupta warned that the finalization was becoming an unending exercise.
“Having regard to the earlier delay and the violation of an undertaking given to this Tribunal and the need for a speedy finalization of the notification, the ongoing proceedings cannot be unending and need to be suitably
curtailed. Accordingly, we direct that if there is a further default and delay beyond March 31, we may have to direct [that] the Advisor, ESZ Division will not be entitled to a salary till compliance and that the draft notification be deemed to be final from 01.04.2020,” the Tribunal ruled.
Goa government has sought a significant reduction in the number of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) of the Western Ghats and in a submission before the Ministry of Environment and Forests has submitted that the total area to be notified as ecologically sensitive area should be halved.
In response to the MoEF’s draft notification which had recommended that 99 villages comprising an area of 1461 square kilometres be notified as ESAs, the Goa Government wants that only 69 villages now be notified.
The MoEF&CC had told the Tribunal that there was a demand for more and more exclusions by the States and project proponents who claim that the need for ‘development’ which at times conflicts with ‘environment protection’ and that both aspects need to be balanced and finalized.
“The matter has been pending for consideration for the last six years,” the NGT noted.
