PANJIM: In a major setback to Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd, project proponents of the Tiracol Golf Course and Resort project, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has found the company guilty of contempt of its order directing it to maintain status quo in Tiracol in respect of felling of trees.
The NGT, arriving at the conclusion that trees were felled by Leading Hotels, said the loss of trees in violation of its order has multiple adverse effects. “Firstly that the environment suffers the loss in terms of imbalance in the environment and secondly, it creates a general feeling that the orders of this tribunal can be casually dealt with and violated as and when one feels like doing contrary to the mandate of this tribunal,” the order, issued on February 3, states.
NGT has confiscated the Rs 5 lakh deposited by the company pursuant to an earlier order dated August 3, 2015, when the tribunal had come to a prima facie finding on contempt.
“Perusal of the photographs shows the excavator in action i.e uprooting the trees/bushes and loading them in the truck bearing registration No. MH 07X 0967 at page-18. Perusal of the photographs at page-20 shows truck bearing registration No. MH 07C 0986 loaded with uprooted trees. Except branding these photographs as false and concocted, there is nothing before us to reach such conclusion,” the order issued by Justice UD Salvi and Dr Ajay Deshpande states.
“In absence of any material or affidavit produced by the respondent (Leading Hotels), we have to hold that the trees referred to in the Panchnama dated 15th May, 2015 by numbers, species, girth and length, are the trees which were cut in the night between 14th and 15th May, 2015. This premise is further substantiated by the photographs on record,” the order added.
The NGT, in an order dated April 16, 2015 had directed that ‘status quo’ be maintained till lawful permission is granted for tree felling.
The order is based on an application filed by Goa Foundation which alleged that the company had forcibly entered Tiracol village on the night of May 14, 2015 with a private army and heavy machinery and proceeded to fell trees for the construction of an illegal road through the northern boundary of Tiracol through plots which it claims it has acquired. This ownership is contested by the tenants of Tiracol.
Pursuant to complaints filed by the villagers, the Forest Department conducted a panchnama on May 15, listing the number of trees cut and recording the use of a bulldozer and excavator. Goa Foundation’s application was based on photographs taken of the equipment at the site.
Leading Hotels in their say through an affidavit said it had earlier felled 46 trees in 2012. Though the felling of those trees was illegal, it said that the offence was compounded and that the Forest Department’s panchanama of May 15, 2015 was in respect of the trees left behind pursuant to the 2012 trees felled.
This argument was completely rejected by the NGT which held that the company had not taken any action to file relevant documents relating to the earlier panchanama or any statements or affidavits from the owners of the truck, JCB/bull dozers used in the operations denying their presence on the site.
