PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa took sou motu cognisance of the MoEF&CC order transferring jurisdiction over Goa to the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal at Delhi and ordered that no Goa related files will be transferred to the Delhi bench based on the notification till further orders.
The order maintaining status quo passed was passed on Monday and no files can be transferred till September 5 which is the next date of hearing, court stated. The court will hear the matter on September 5 in view of the approaching Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
HC took up the issue suo motu following newspaper reports, including Herald, reporting of GOs condemning the move by the Centre and listing the problems it would cause to the fight to protect the environment.
In a move that could deal a severe blow on the environmental movement in Goa, the Central Government issued a notification last week making the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Delhi Principal Bench as only place to file litigations related to Goa.
The move of the Union Government has been condemned by the environmentalists across the State.
Until now, Goa’s cases were heard before the West Zone Bench at Pune. Around 40 percent of the cases in the Pune Bench are from Goa and activists feel this is a deliberate attempt to stem the efforts to keep Goa green.
The notification issued by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has specified the ordinary places of sitting and territorial jurisdiction of the NGT. Goa has been shifted from the Western Zone to the Principal Bench in Delhi.
