TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The “invasion of Tiracol” on the night of May 14/15 by men and bouncers of Leading Hotels Limited to cut trees and make a path leading to the project site of the golf course and villa project, will now be challenged legally. Apart from the people’s ire and the massive unrest in the village over the terror tactics used by the golf course promoters, the felling of the trees appeared to have clearly violated the National Green Tribunal status quo on the felling of trees in survey numbers 4, 5 and 6 of the area. The plots covered were also declared forest areas by the forest committee. The trees cut on the night of May 14/15 fall under survey number 6.
The National Green Tribunal passed an order on an application filed by Goa Foundation and three others protesting permission to fell 155 trees, which had expired. The NGT directed status quo on the lands involved in the Tiracol golf course project. The application for restraining Leading Hotels (the golf resort owners) from felling any trees was made in the appeal proceedings pending before the tribunal.
A few days prior to the filing of the application, the appellants found workers clearing the undergrowth on survey number 4. The present application for stay was made apprehending that in the process of clearing, trees would also be cut for the golf course. In the meantime, the permission to fell the trees had expired and fresh permission was required.
During the hearings, Leading Hotels filed an affidavit stating they would not fell the trees, as the permission had expired. The NGT held that the appellants could file an objection with the tree officer, if such an application for felling of trees was made by Leading Hotels in the future.
None of this was followed. On the night of May 15/16 Leading Hotels barged into the village and created a road on survey number 6 violating the status quo order, by passing the panchayat and everybody
With Leading Hotels, on the face of it, deciding to take the law into their own hands, by resorting to tree cutting when the stay order was in force, the manner of giving permissions to cut trees by the Forest Department will come in for sharp scrutiny.
According to informed sources, the permission to fell 155 trees from a survey number that has been identified as forest by the North Goa Expert Committee on Private Forests had been issued after the plot had been identified as forest.
