The flame that was lit that November night at Guirdolim has not burnt out. It has begun to burn brighter. The long walks from Mollem to the port town have also not been futile, the footsteps taken have finally arrived at the destination.
It is people’s power that has prevailed once again and it required the legal process and the highest court of the land to find that the arguments proffered by the people were valid, as the Supreme Court cancelled the green clearance granted to the doubling of the railway line between Tinaighat-Castlerock the falls in Karnataka and Kulem in Goa. Essentially, the apex court accepted the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee appointed by it to study the three linear projects in the State, which were cutting through large swathes of the Mollem forest and which would result in the axe falling on thousands of trees.
It was in April last year that the Central Empowered Committee had submitted its report to the Supreme Court. At that time it was a recommendation and the environment lobby had cheered the findings and recommendations. Today, with the Supreme Court accepting the recommendations of the committee, it becomes a fait accompli notching up one of the biggest victories for the green movement in the State. It was a people’s movement and there is no single organisation that can take credit for it, but a number of them. In the courtrooms it was Goa Foundation that stood its ground and on the ground it was Save Mollem, Goencho Ekvott, Goencho Avaaz, Goyant Kolloso Naka that worked with the people.
Yet, the battle is far from over. While the permission granted by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife for doubling of the railway track has been cancelled, in no way has the project been scrapped. The railways have been given the opportunity to reapply and it is almost certain that they will do so. That would result in an entire new process and coming after the green clearance has been cancelled, could lead to the National Board of Wildlife taking a more considerate view of the issue and the number of trees to be cut for the railway line. It will be pertinent to see what stand the State government takes when the application goes to the National Wildlife Board for clearance.
The order pertains to just a small stretch in the Mollem forest. There is no obstruction to the railways to continue work on other stretches. There has been opposition to the double tracking at other areas also, especially along the coastal villages where boundary walls and houses will be affected by the project. It is here that the State government that had been resolutely backing the project despite the sustained protests, has to take a decision. Since people’s power has prevailed in the Mollem area where environment is concerned, what steps will the government now take, especially on the other area where there is opposition to the doubling of the track?
The Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Central Empowered Committee’s recommendations gives a different perspective to the issue. The State has to rethink its position on the three linear projects and reveal its decisions to the people. It cannot maintain the adamant stand that it had taken on the projects. Also, will the government now withdraw the cases filed against the protestors? In the background of the Supreme Court decision, the government should quickly finalise its position on the three linear projects. It should remember that giving the people what they want is not an act of weakness, but one of magnanimity.
