NT Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has stayed the operation and implementation of the final land acquisition declaration for the proposed High Level New Borim Bridge and its approach roads.
The interim order was passed on a petition filed by Salvador Alves and 39 others, including landowners, occupants
and agricultural tenants from Loutolim
and Borim.
The court restrained the authorities from taking physical possession of the land, dispossessing landowners, commencing construction or awarding third-party construction contracts based on the stayed declaration.
The court said that the petition raised a prima facie case regarding compliance with mandatory environmental and forest clearance requirements. It granted liberty to the authorities to seek modification or vacation of the stay after obtaining the required
statutory clearances.
The petitioners contend that the proposed alignment passes through cultivated fields, khazan lands, CRZ areas and provisionally identified
private forest land.
The court stayed the Section 3-D declaration issued on October 11, 2024, and fixed the matter for final hearing on
October 12, 2026.
The court permitted the authorities to pursue CRZ and forest clearances, undertake non-invasive surveys, finalise project estimates and process tenders at their own risk.
