PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal has directed the government of Goa that no further construction should be carried out towards the contentious Tiracol bridge, except on the land which has already been cut. This holds too especially on the Querim side, which is disputed and said to be within the CRZ-1 area. The NGT further directed that no constriction should be carried out on the Tiracol side of the bridge till Forest Clearance as well as prior approval of the tribunal is obtained.
The NGT is hearing an appeal by the Goa Foundation against the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and others, including agencies of the State government, against the alleged violation of CRZ, Forest and other rules, in clearing the construction of the Rs 76 crore Tiracol bridge, which is strongly believed to be solely to augment and give access to the Tiracol Golf Course and villas project being developed by Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd for the Jatia group. Virtually the entire land of the village Tiracol has been sold for this project and the developers are facing a serious legal challenge in the manner in which land was acquired/bought for the project.
Advocate Dattaprasad Lawande, on behalf of the government, arguing for the government vehemently argued that the area on the Querim side was not a CRZ-1 area because it is not a coastal area but a river bank. He also pressed for a final hearing of the issue to shorten the length of decision making in this case, rather than give interim reliefs.
The tribunal has however kept the issue of whether this falls in a CRZ area completely open and will hear the Goa Foundation’s arguments on the issue.
The next hearing is scheduled on January 9.
