PANAJI
The National Green Tribunal has taken a dim view of Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar’s alleged comments blaming the Tribunal for delaying the allotment of shacks.
Disposing a petition seeking that Parulekar be acted against for showing disregard and contempt for the Tribunal, NGT on Wednesday stated that it “deprecates” Parulekar’s attitude.
"We would like to deprecate such attitude of politicians who are supposed to lead the citizens in service of the nation. Rather than engaging themselves in blame-game, they should engage themselves in introspections which may save the nation better," NGT noted.
The Tribunal, however, stopped short of initiating contempt proceedings against him saying that they are involved in the "serious work of delivering environmental justice. “As such we do not wish to engage ourselves in the business of correcting politicians and wasting our time and energy,” the Tribunal said while disposing the petition.
Petitioner Aleixo Arnolfo Pereira had approached the court, pointing to news clippings that quoted the Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar who blamed the National Green Tribunal for the delay in allotment of shacks
The same day, NGT while hearing an application to implement its orders with regard to private shacks, directed Goa State Coastal Zone Management Authority not to grant any new permissions to any shack owner who is yet to demolish his shack and has not complied with the directions given by GCZMA.
Earlier, petitioner Aleixo Pereira in an affidavit had submitted photographs of several structures of private shacks still standing replete with cement floors.
The Advocate General sought two weeks to resume and complete the demolition of these shacks.
GCZMA had earlier this year cancelled all permissions given by GCZMA for private shacks and had sought that all the shacks be demolished as they were given sans a carrying capacity and sand dune mapping study which were made mandatory by the NGT back in 2014. The court also initiated action against GCZMA officials for failing to implement its orders.
