Apropos to ‘A tight slap on those who compromised on forest, wildlife’ (The Goan Everyday May 10, 2022), the Supreme Court judgement will surely give a fillip to environmental activists not just in Goa, but the rest of the country as well. The court endorsement of the Central Empowerment Committee (CEC) observations seems to be truly a tight slap on those who compromised on forest and wildlife. This judgement may be a temporary victory for environmentalists. The railways have been given the opportunity to reapply for the necessary clearances. One only hopes the project would be studied thoroughly as it threatens to disturb nature and wildlife in the state. There is one lesson, however, that the authorities implementing such infrastructure projects in the country must learn and that is they need to take ground realities into account. They need to take the local population, the people who would be directly affected, into confidence. They need to understand the implications of the project. It is not just a matter of monetary compensation. One thing is clear, you cannot compromise on nature. You cannot compensate nature with money. Nature will strike back at will and in its own time.
