Team Herald
PANJIM: The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing on the contempt plea filed by Goa Foundation against State government officials and Tamnar for alleged felling of nearly 3,000 trees for construction of an electricity sub-station at Sangod in Mollem.
In a press statement issued by the petitioner, it is said that the contempt plea came up for hearing before the Apex Court on Tuesday and that the further hearing was posted, without a date, after the vacation.
The petitioner claimed that the court appeared severely unhappy with the felling of nearly 3,000 trees at Sangod when the matter came up for hearing.
The petitioner said that the court refused to issue notice on the application filed by Tamnar requesting exemption from court’s February 4, 2015 order prohibiting conversion sanads on lands in excess of one hectare, having canopy density in excess of 10 per cent. “The court said they would be hearing the contempt petition first,” the petitioner said.
The GF has pleaded for action against Chief Secretary, former secretary to the Chief Minister, South Goa Collector, officials of Forest Department and Tamnar for deliberate violation of the court’s order, dated February 4, 2015 forbidding conversion certificates for any land in excess of one hectare, and having a tree density of more than 10 per cent.
The Tamnar 400 kv HTL project promoters purchased over 10 hectares of land in Sangod from private persons in 2018. However, the plot contained more than 2,849 trees, 90 per cent of which were forest species.
In normal course, as the criteria for private forest were clearly met in this case, Tamnar was required to apply for forest clearance. It did not do so.
The petitioner claimed that the Forest Department raised a file to exempt the entire plot from the purview of the Goa Preservation of Trees Act, 1984. Pursuant to government granting the exemption, the Forest Department issued the licence to fell 2,849 trees.
