PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday issued a notice on Goa Foundation’s application for contempt of court, directing the Forest department to produce copies of panchanama or any reports prepared by the department of the activity of felling of trees that took place on the night of May 14/15, 2015 in Tiracol.
Taking cognisance of Goa Foundation’s submission that it was not aware of application for felling trees that had been made by Leading Hotels and hence was unable to make representation before the Forest department to oppose felling of trees, the NGT directed Leading Hotels to give copies of all applications that were made by it or pending before the Forest department for felling of trees.
Leading Hotels, backed with about 50 bouncers, had on the night of May 14 invaded the village of Tiracol and cut trees. The company had alleged they had permissions for felling trees granted to them from the Forest department but Herald in its reports had clearly exposed that on the night of May 14/15 it had no permission to cut even a single tree. All it had was a license which had expired.
Alert villagers notified the police and forest authorities who intervened the following day. Villagers claimed the hotel invaded several areas of land that belonged to them as tenants. Leading Hotels, however, claim they are the owners of the 12 lakh square metres of the village. The tenancy case is currently being heard at the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
Goa Foundation, the petitioner in the contempt petition in NGT (arising out of Leading Hotels cutting trees inspite of a clear stay on the felling of trees by the NGT) in its submissions on Friday stated that the following tree felling permissions were given to Leading Hotels after the company invaded the village and terrified the villages and butchered trees. On May 20, permission to fell 155 trees was granted on survey number 4/1. On June 11, permission to fell 97 trees was granted on survey number 5/6.
However, most significantly, there is no evidence on record to prove that the Forest department has granted permission to fell trees on survey number 6, where the maximum number of trees were cut to construct the beginning of the road which led into the property and traversed other survey numbers.
The advocate for the petitioner contended that the tree felling began on survey number 6 and went inwards but the petitioner was not aware of any application made by Leading Hotels seeking permissions to fell trees.
Arguments in the case will now be heard on August 3, 2015.
