PANAJI
The stay on the translocation of the banyan tree at Vodakkodem, Porvorim, has been extended till January 23 after the Hyderabad-based firm, Doctor Trees India Pvt Ltd, sought additional time from the High Court of Bombay at Goa to file its affidavit.
The Court had initially directed the firm to submit a detailed plan and methodology for translocating the tree by January 21 while ordering a stay on the process till this date. However, during the hearing on Tuesday, the firm’s representative requested more time, which the Court granted while also extending the stay until the next hearing.
Earlier, the firm had submitted a proposal detailing the method to be used to translocate the tree. However, the petitioner rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the firm’s prior haphazard execution along the same stretch where elevated corridor works are underway.
Last Tuesday, activists criticized the manner in which five age-old trees including two banyan trees were translocated. They alleged that one of these trees had been infested by mites and claimed that authorities had overlooked crucial guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), particularly the mandatory three-month pre-treatment period for the trees.
