PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has stayed an office memorandum of the North Goa District Collector permitting, directly or indirectly conversion of land with natural vegetation.
A Division Bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice M S Jawalkar, by its order dated October 28, 2021 has stayed Clause 2 (iii) of the office memorandum issued by the District Collector (North) which excluded lands with area below one hectare going to the Forest Department for its report.
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Petitioner NGO Goa Foundation, represented by Advocate Anamika Gode, argued that it is only the Forest Department that has the necessary expertise to consider the natural vegetation with tree canopy density. Therefore, any such exclusion was wrong and bound to be set aside.
The petitioner produced before the High Court copies of earlier orders directing that all lands for conversion must go to the Forest Department. It also submitted Supreme Court’s order dated February 4, 2015 prohibiting conversion of lands which were in excess of one hectare and had a canopy density 10 per cent and above.
“Due to the Collector’s memorandum, itself based on a questionable letter dated October 7, 2020 issued by the Forest Department’s headquarters, people with areas in excess of one hectare were subdividing the plots so that each plot was below one hectare prior to making conversion applications. The Collectors were then issuing conversion sanads even though the file had not been routed to the Forest Department and despite the order of the Supreme Court,” the petitioner alleged.
The petitioner further cited the case of Survey Number 85/1 of Calangute village which is part of Calangute’s biggest remaining green zone which was likewise broken up by the party concerned into four segments to bypass the Forest Department and Supreme Court’s order.
The Court, in its order, stayed Clause 2 (iii) of the Collector’s memorandum and also restrained the private parties from felling any trees. The case is now posted to November 26, with the respondents including the State government directed to file their replies by November 22.
