PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has disposed a PIL challenging the operations of shrimp aquaculture farms of one John Joseph D’Souza and his son Keith D’Souza at Tuem.
The petition, filed by Jose Lobo and Goa Foundation in 2016, complained that the aquaculture operations had contaminated the drinking water and wells of the local settlement where Lobo and others reside. The petition had also alleged destruction of mangroves, intrusion of saline water into the adjacent paddy fields, damage of fresh water ponds, noise from aerators and denial of community access to the Chapora river for fishing.
“The farms were modern farms and such farms are not permitted in the CRZ in view of the judgement of the Supreme Court. John had on his own application been declared as agricultural tenant of the aquaculture lands by an order of the Civil Court of Pernem passed in 1991 and that he had commenced aquaculture operations on these farms after the Civil Court’s order. The Agricultural Tenancy Act does not permit diversion of agricultural lands for aquaculture purposes,” Goa Foundation Director Claude Alvares said.
Pursuant to filing of the PIL and the facts disclosed therein, the State government took a decision to cancel its approval for the farms and this decision was communicated to the Coastal Aquaculture Authority based in Chennai. Faced with the Goa government’s decision, Alvares said, the Coastal Aquaculture Authority also cancelled its registration of the farms, bringing operations on both farms to a close.
In view of the facts that the authorities had taken adequate steps to close down the farms and cancel the registrations, the High Court disposed the PIL petition on October 11 and directed that any further attempts to restart the farms would require that the authorities give notice to the petitioners since the PIL had not been disposed of on merits.
