Staff Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has issued notices to the South Western Railway (SWR) and the Directorate of Survey and Land Records (DSLR) on a petition filed by the Goa Foundation challenging land acquisition proceedings within the Mollem Wildlife
Sanctuary.
The petition was filed in response to alleged encroachment into lands within the Bhagwan Mahaveer (Mollem) Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalay village, allegedly for doubling the Hospet-Hubbali-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line and related works.
The Court has adjourned the matter to March 4 for further orders, in light of the plea seeking a restraint on tree felling within the sanctuary.
The Goa Foundation has challenged the authority of the SWR and DSLR to acquire land within the wildlife sanctuary or alter the status of such land, arguing that these actions violate the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WLPA).
The NGO said that despite the Supreme Court revoking all permissions for the railway track doubling within the sanctuary in 2022, land acquisition proceedings and alterations to land revenue records have been initiated in favour of the SWR within the protected area, contravening the WLPA.
The Act explicitly prohibits the accrual of any rights in, on, or over land within a notified sanctuary.
The petition outlines two methods through which the SWR is allegedly encroaching on protected land. The first pertains to illegal land acquisition proceedings under the Railways Act. The second concerns changes made in 2024 to land revenue records, creating a new survey number, Sy No 165/1, in Kalay in favour of the SWR.
This new survey number includes the entire length of the existing railway track through the village, along with large tracts of land on either side. A significant portion of this land falls within the wildlife sanctuary, and many trees within the sanctuary have allegedly been marked for felling.
Despite legal protections under the WLPA, the Supreme Court’s order, and ongoing proceedings for the settlement of rights, the sanctuary remains under threat from encroachment, the NGO contended.
These activities pose a risk to the wildlife habitat and its security, it said. Advocates Anamika Gode and Sherwyn Correia appeared for the Goa Foundation.
