TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: The State government will file its reply on the buffer zone of wild life sanctuaries before the Supreme Court and a copy to this will be sent to Union Ministry of Forest and Environment, department officials said.
The Union ministry had recently accused the Goa government of not replying to its queries and asked the Supreme Court to direct it to do the needful. “We are filing our say. The file has been approved,” Principal chief conservator of forests Richard D’ Souza told Herald, adding that they would file the reply before the Supreme Court and the MoEF.
The State government had filed an affidavit in the court generally inline with the court appointed Centrally Empowered Committee that had spoken about a buffer zone of 1-km to 500 mts but much less than the 10 km buffer zone that was the original norm in an earlier court order.
The MoEF pushing for the earlier order of 10 km, argued that the State government has not responded to its queries. The State’s reply, according to officials, is more in line with what the CEC has been saying about the state and based on the cabinet decision that has recommended a one km buffer zone for the state around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and that the sanctuaries had been taken individually and not contiguously.
The government has also for a time period of between 5-10 years to rehabilitate the mines that are in the buffer zones. In case it is one km buffer zone, then around 23 mines will be affected and these include mines owned by powerful families in the state.
According to sources, the Supreme Court could take up the case by August.
