PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has made it abundantly clear that his government is not in the least inclined to follow the High Court’s direction to his government to notify the Mhadei Tiger Reserve by October 25 (i.e. three months from the date of the order dated July 24, 2023).
A day after the deadline for notifying Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve ended, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that the government is waiting for the High Court’s decision on the application filed by the State government seeking more time to implement the court order.
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“We have filed an application in the High Court seeking more time to declare the wildlife sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. The High Court has not taken any decision to date. We are waiting for the decision,” the Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the city.
However, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Tourism Shripad Naik avoided the question related to the issue saying the government will take a decision.
The State government has missed the deadline set by the High Court of Bombay at Goa to declare the Mhadei forest complex as a Tiger Reserve. There is no protection from the High Court or the Supreme Court to pause or not to go ahead with the High Court order.
The High Court in its order dated July 24, 2023, had directed the Goa government to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding area as Tiger Reserve within three months from the order date. The three-month deadline ended on October 24, 2023.
However, the State government appealed against the order in the Supreme Court and engaged the services of former Attorney General and senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi to defend the State.
On September 25, the Supreme Court, while hearing a special leave application of the Goa government, declined to either grant an interim stay to the directions of the High Court or extend the July 24 deadline.
However, it issued notices to the Goa Foundation, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Goa’s Advocate General Devidas Pangam, was not available for comments.
