Taking cognisance of a petition filed by some citizens, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a 3-member committee to submit a report within a month concerning the construction of the footbridge-cum-cycling track, opposite the Panaji market. The bridge is nearly completed and has been built over a sand bank of the River Mandovi and mouth of a tidally affected creek is located in CRZ-I. The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) commenced the project after obtaining permission from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA). One fails to understand as to how the GCZMA gave permission by violating the NGT’s decision of April 2022 in the C.H. Balamohan vs. Union of India & others on the protection of beaches from human-induced erosion caused by hard structures. If the NGT stops the construction then crores of rupees would literally go down the Mandovi River. The NGT will meet on March 27 to decide the merits of the case and fate of the footbridge. Till then let us watch the ebb and flow of tides in the choked creek.
