NT Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa will hear on July 13 a petition challenging the acquisition of land inside the Bhagwan Mahaveer (Mollem) Wildlife Sanctuary for railway doubling works.
Before the hearing, the court has directed all parties to submit within a week the legal judgments they intend to rely upon in the case.
The petition concerns land in Kalay village, which was originally private property but later became part of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The land is proposed to be acquired for the doubling of the Hospet-Hubballi-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line and related works.
The court said the key issue is whether land that forms part of a notified wildlife sanctuary can be acquired under provisions of the Railways Act, 1989.
Goa Foundation, which has filed the petition, has argued that the Wildlife Protection Act does not permit land within a protected wildlife sanctuary to be acquired for any other purpose. According to the petition, despite SC revoking permissions for railway track doubling
work within the sanctuary in 2022, land acquisition proceedings and changes to land revenue records have been initiated in favour of South Western Railway within the protected area.
The petition states that such actions violate the Wildlife Protection Act, which bars the creation of rights in, on or over land within a notified sanctuary.
It further states that despite legal protections, the Supreme Court’s order and the ongoing process of settlement of rights, the sanctuary continues to face threats from human encroachment.
According to the petition, these activities are affecting the wildlife habitat, its security and the wildlife dependent on it.
