PANAJI
The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ordered halting tree felling at Dabolim while issuing notice on an appeal filed by the Goa Foundation against a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling that had cleared the way for a large residential project.
A two-judge bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan directed that no trees shall be felled on Survey No. 43/1-A at Dabolim until further orders. Notices to DLF Homes Goa Pvt Ltd and other respondents are returnable in six weeks.
The interim protection follows submissions by senior advocate Norma Alvares on behalf of petitioner NGO Goa Foundation, who argued that the project site constitutes forest land and faces imminent loss of green cover.
The appeal challenged NGT’s June 11 order that held the land was non-forest, clearing way to the developer to proceed with construction.
The appeal contended that expert reports from the State Forest Department, the Union Environment Ministry and the Araujo Committee had identified the area as private forest after field inspections, but were disregarded by a later Review Committee that relied solely on satellite imagery to exclude it from the forest list.
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