MARGAO: Reacting to the High Court disposing of the petition filed against the wall constructed on Vainguinim Beach and asking that it will be taken up before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Vainguinim Valley Residents Association (VVRA) lamented that the longer the wall stays it will continue to damage the beach ecosystem.
“We, the local residents are disappointed with the whole system where authorities specifically the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), the Water Resources Department (WRD), the Taleigao Panchayat, have not done their jobs which allowed the wall to be built in the first place and how after getting expert advice have continued to neglect their duties,” stated the VVRA.
“As expected we have to go to the NGT to get justice as is the case with most environmental matters in Goa. The longer the wall stays, the more the damage to local beach ecosystem,” the VVRA added in its statement to the media.
At the hearing held at the Bombay High Court at Goa on Friday, the GCZMA placed on record its final order dated October 2022. It was pointed out that the decision making process of the GCZMA was faulty and therefore the High Court should hear the petitioners. The High Court however was of the view that since there is an order of the GCZMA, it could be effectively challenged before the NGT being the forum to challenge the order of the GCZMA. The High Court was also of the view that the points raised before the High Court as regards the faulty decision making process of the GCZMA could be taken up by the NGT. The petition thus came to be dispossessed of on the basis of the subsequent development of the order of the GCZMA.
“With elections in mind, neither the sitting BJP candidate Jennifer Monserrate nor Congress candidate Tony Rodrigues has assured us any action. They have only mentioned about looking into the matter, which they know about very well. AAP Candidate Cecille Rodrigues and Independent candidate Pundalik Raikar have been vocal about the matter and assured us action on the same,” the VVRA added.
