PANAJI
In a major setback to the Goa government, the Regional Empowered Committee (REC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has declined State’s request seeking revocation of abeyance order on diversion of 15.6 ha of forest for the Kulem-Kalem section of railway track doubling project.
Stating that the Kulem-Kalem section of the project falls within the protected areas of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, the REC has directed user agencies including Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) to undertake detail analysis of the impact of proposed project on the biodiversity and ecology of the protected areas of the wildlife sanctuary.
As Goa and RVNL claimed that the Supreme Court order dated May 9, 2022 is only binding on the proposal from Castle Rock to Kulem section and not the Kulem-Kalem section, REC, slammed the user agencies and said “operative part of the Supreme Court order has to be read in its spirit”.
“REC after detailed deliberation did not agree to the request made by the State government/RVNL and directed the user agency/state government to expand the scope of study to the proposed Kulem-Kalem section as it is also part of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary,” reads the minutes of the meeting held on February 26.
The State had approached the REC seeking revocation of an abeyance order on the diversion of 15.6 hectares of forest land along the Kulem-Kalem section of the railway track falling under the North Goa Forest Division in favour of South Western Railway and RVNL. The diversion is part of the controversial track doubling project between Tinaighat in Karnataka and Vasco da Gama in Goa that had its wildlife clearances revoked by the Supreme Court in 2022 based on recommendations by the court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
“REC is of the view that though the Supreme Court has not specifically mentioned about the remaining sections, but the operative part of the judgment has to be read in its spirit as it has also directed the user agency to carry out detailed analysis on the impact of the proposed project on biodiversity and ecology of the protected areas under the wildlife sanctuary,” the minutes added.
During the meeting, REC also noted that the same proposal of the State was deliberated by them during the previous meeting and this section of diversion of 15.6ha was “not recommended considering the fact that the stretch falls in Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and in the Eco Sensitive Zone of the Sanctuary”.
REC pointed out that the Goa forest department is also of the view that there is not much difference with respect to ecological diversity between Castle Rock-Kulem section and Kulem-Kalem section.
The State while trying to justify its proposal informed the REC that the Supreme Court appointed CEC has only inspected the area between Castle Rock to Kulem section and not visited other stretches including Kulem-Kalem section.
In its proposal, Goa said that the Stage II approval was accorded to the project in April 2022 for all the three proposals of the State totalling diversion of 138.39 ha of forest land. However, in the view of the Apex Court order dated May 2022, entire approvals were kept in abeyance.
Thereafter, the abeyance order in respect of proposal related to diversion 1.908 ha for the Kulem-Sanvordem stretch which falls in private forest was revoked as the same was not part of the SC order.
