PANAJI
The Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL) will not cut a single tree until the next date of hearing, counsel representing the company has told the Bombay High Court at Goa.
The High Court is hearing a petition filed by the Goa Foundation along with villagers of Sangodd who have opposed the building of a substation in their village on the fringes of the Western Ghats.
The Goa Foundation has challenged the permissions granted for the project.
The PIL filed by the Goa Foundation and five landowners -- Gajanan Vasant Sawaiker, Antonio Mario Barreto, Vishwasrao Desai, Vishwanath Krishna Deveshekar and Josephine Fernandes -- whose lands would be affected as a result of the project, challenges the approval dated November 28 issued by the Central Electricity Authority for an alignment of the 400 KV High Tension Line (HTL) as it directly affects forests, wildlife and a total of 1,31,082 trees in the ecologically sensitive area of the Western Ghats.
The matter has been placed for hearing next in the second week of November.
Several petitions are pending before the High Court challenging the alignment of the Tamnar Transmission line through the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary (together with two other projects) in violation of the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 as well as another challenging the approvals granted for the destruction of a primary forest comprising 2849 forest trees on Sy No 21/1 of Sangod village without FCA approval and in violation of an order of the Supreme Court dated 4.2.2015, for construction of an electricity substation in which a stay has been issued.
