There is an interesting as a well as a queer irony in the story of the green court and the fiery activists of Goa who literally go far for the cause of justice, for the land they love. One of the biggest aspersions cast on Goa’s activists, who moved the NGT on some of the most contentious and path breaking issues, is their ability to spend large amounts of money to fight these cases. Their ability to challenge the government, its institutions and third parties who get permissions from the government is weighed against their propensity to afford such litigations.
While there is no denying that litigation is expensive, there cannot be any denying either of the manner in which many of our green litigants travel to Pune, attend cases and rush back without even spending a night in hotels. And let’s face this. They all have friends, well wishers and even dedicated lawyers, not all of them of the cut throat variety, who not just do pro bono cases but even drive their clients to Pune and back. The overnight coach service companies Paulo, Volvo, Neeta, Kundaskar et al have been unknowing witnesses to the frequent travels of their activist passengers, who travel overnight to reach Pune, be present for a case and return the same evening.
So in the sense the NGT Pune, as was intended, was seen as Goa’s neighbourhood court which could be accessed by so many civic groups, NGOs, independent activists and affected citizens. And they have achieved path breaking success. But this success is not and should not be measured in terms of the number of projects or project proposals they managed to stop but in being watchdog to ensure that processes and procedures for giving environmental clearances and other permissions from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority, forests and the pollution control board, are adhered to. The NGT has played a stellar role in monitoring the governance of environment in a multitude of cases.
From Tiracol, where the crusade of Claude and Norma Alvares led to the NGT ordering that the environmental clearance (EC) granted by the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to the Tiracol golf course resort project of Leading Hotels be held in abeyance for four months and monitor the conduct of Environment Department officials, who had given the EC for the project and initiate suitable action, to Siolim where it gave a stay on the construction of the jetty project and prevent construction, on grounds that a proper EIA was not done and the project approved under the garb of strengthening of the bund; to the victory of the Fishing Canoe Owners and the Baina Ramponkar and Fishing Canoe Owners Society against the Environmental Clearance granted to the Mormugao Port Trust for capital dredging and the people of Vasco when the NGT ordered a detailed public hearing on the expansion of the capacities of MPT, to the order of the NGT, responding to the petition and efforts of activist Judith Almeida, directing the restoration of sand dunes at Sernabatim and Colva which were being destroyed to make a road to the beach, the National Green tribunal has been a friend and protector of Goa’s environment. And while that will not change even in Delhi, the point is that orders come out of legwork, time devoted and financial resources available. Going to Delhi by train is time consuming and air fares are not exactly cheap plus accommodation and other expenses.
Is it fair to tax and torture crusaders when all that needs to be done is to bring a circuit bench of the NGT to Goa, as argued eloquently by Vasco based activist Savio Correia in his lead article on this page.
It’s a relief though that the Goa bench of the High Court has taken a suo motu cognisance of the voices of Goa’s protectors reported extensively in the Goan media and put a stay on the transfer of cases from NGT Pune to Delhi till the next hearing. And it is a matter of pride and hope that NGOs all across Goa have united for a battle to ensure that they continue to fight their battles for Goa without unfair hurdles blocking their path.
