Team Herald
PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal has kept in abeyance the Environmental Clearance granted to Leading Hotels for the controversial Golf Course and Villa Project in Tiracol and directed them to get a fresh environmental clearance from the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) as well as the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). Both these bodies come under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Forests of the Goa Government.
The Rs 1300 crore Golf Course and Villa project in the village of Tiracol is embroiled in a series of litigations and challenges to the EC, CRZ clearances, forest permissions and the main challenge to the sale of village land on which the project is coming up. These challenges by several groups like the local villagers under the St Anthony’s Tenants and Mundkar’s Association, and NGOs, mainly the Goa Foundation, has led to a project slowdown albeit for the right reasons. Leading Hotels has always maintained that it has got all permissions from the government and is above board.
The NGT order on Tuesday, endorses and confirms Herald’s reports (which were a part of the petition as exhibits), which first exposed the completely inappropriate, bordering on fraudulent, manner in which Environmental Clearances were granted for this project.
The case of the applicants, Goa Foundation, in the NGT was that the SEAC had never recommended the project for Environmental Clearance. It had instead recommended that the Central government must consider the grant of EC for the project. However, after the last meeting of the SEAC, the Chairman and Member Secretary of the SEAC, on their own, on April 10, 2014, made a recommendation to the SEIAA that SEAC had recommended the project. This was contrary to the actual recommendation of the SEAC which was that the central government should consider the project. There are no minutes of the SEAC on record which certify the recommendation made by the then Chairman and Secretary of the SEAC, Dr S P Fondekar and Dr Mohan R Girap respectively. (SEE BOX)
Two days later the SEIAA granted the environment clearance. This was challenged and the petitioners alleged fraud in the project. Significantly, the minutes of the meeting of the SEIAA which decided to grant the EC, were confirmed on April 15, three days after the EC was given. Significantly, the term of the SEIAA got over on April 14, 2014. Therefore, the minutes were confirmed on a day when the SEIAA body was not even in existence. (SEE BOX)
The NGT order will turn the clock back to April 2014 where the entire process of EC clearance will have to be re-done. Of course option of challenging the order of the NGT may be exercised by the respondents.
But it corrects what was so evidently out of place in the grant of the EC clearance, in a hasty manner, skirting clear laid down rules and established procedures.
