Team Herald
PANJIM: A division bench of the High Court of Bombay issued notices to North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and others in a petition filed to declare the Baga Hill as a ‘No Development Zone’.
The bench comprising of Justice Suresh Gupte and Justice Prithviraj Chavan issued the notices in public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Goa Foundation, Agnel Barreto and Peter D’Souza, in the interests of intergenerational equity (interest of future generations).
In its appeal, the petitioners have claimed “A road has been proposed through the forested hill, to benefit a group of real estate interests and resort developers. For this purpose, the existing forest vegetation has been burnt and destroyed in order to commence with construction of the road, plots and buildings – a prospect, which if allowed, will mean the end of the Baga Hill for all times to come.”
The petitioners have further stated “The provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, apply, but these have been violated with impunity. So does the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The development on the hill has been enabled through illegal changes made in the Final ODP 2025 of the Calangute Candolim planning area.”
The PIL has challenged any developments proposed on the hill through the ODP 2025 of the Calangute-Candolim planning area and has sought the rehabilitation of the forest land already allegedly destroyed in pursuance of the developments.
