NGT order on river-front
project in Siolim hailed
THE GOAN NETWORK
MAPUSA
Hailing the National Green Tribunal order on the much-debated river-front project in Siolim, the petitioner Suvarnasangeet Vernekar on Wednesday said the outcome further proves that judiciary is the only hope of the common man.
“It shows that when the government of the day and the elected representatives fail to listen to the voice of the people, our only hope remains in the judiciary,” said Vernekar.
He further said that instead of defending the environment, the MLAs and ministers had ruined it by trampling on the law of the land. “The laws are made to protect the environment, but here we find ministers cocking a snook at the laws. It’s only the judiciary that has saved us and our environment,” he said.
Vinod Palyekar, who backed the petitioner and has been the driving force behind the petition against the project, said the government broke all laws in an attempt to get the project through.
“What is rapid Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report? There is no such thing as rapid EIA. Formulation of EIA takes a long time. This has been done in a hurry and that is why the NGT has taken cognizance of the matter,” Palyekar said.
He said with the order going against it, the government will try everything within its means to push the project. “We feel the government will approach the Supreme Court and that is why we have filed a caveat in SC on Tuesday. We are sure the SC will not entertain the government,” he said.
Repeated attempts to contact the Water Resources Minister and local MLA Dayanand Mandrekar proved futile.
