Staff Reporter
Panaji
Making strong observations about the destruction of Goa’s natural environment especially its forests, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the conversion of all survey numbers identified as private forests by Thomas and Araujo committees.
“We know how forests are being destroyed in Goa,” the Supreme Court Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed before it went on to pass an order granting interim relief against the conversion of any of the 855 survey numbers identified finally as forest by the two expert committees headed by VT Thomas and Francisco Araujo in their 2018 reports.
The apex court was concerned about the felling of any trees on the 855 plots/survey numbers in question, and wanted to know where the petitioner Goa Foundation had stated in the application that trees were being cut.
Counsel for the petitioner told the top court that no trees had been cut, but conversion sanads were being issued, which was a prelude to tree felling.
She showed the SC the conversion sanad issued to M/s Bhutani project at Sancoale. The plot was identified as private forest by the expert committee.
The court in fact wanted to know how such conversion sanads could be granted when the top court was seized of the matter in appeal.
The SC thereafter allowed the Goa government to file its counter within four weeks, but not before passing its order granting interim relief, that there would be “no further conversion sanad issued in respect of the lands mentioned in prayer clause (a).”
Prayer clause (a) reads: “Pending final disposal of the civil appeal, for an order directing status quo to be maintained on all the 855 survey numbers (whole or sub-division numbers) that are listed as finally identified and demarcated private forest by the Thomas and Araujo committees in their reports dated 10.12.2018 and 28.12.2018.”
Senior advocate Norma Alvares, assisted by lawyer Om D’Costa, appeared for the Goa Foundation.
The state government had appointed two expert committees headed by former foresters VT Thomas and Francisco Araujo in 2012. These two panels were overnight disbanded in March 2018, but they submitted their final reports in December 2018.
Both committees, after field visits and ground demarcation, together identified a total of 8.64 sq km of private forests (855 survey numbers) as ‘final’ in both North and South Goa. The rest of the areas identified were marked ‘provisional’, awaiting further visits and confirmation.
The government however insisted that the review committee would treat all the plots identified as ‘provisional’. The Goa Foundation took the matter to the National Green Tribunal, and thereafter, in appeal, to the apex court.
On March 3, 2025, the Supreme Court heard the interlocutory application filed by the foundation for a status quo order on all survey numbers marked ‘final’ in the two expert reports.
In the main civil appeal, which has also been admitted for hearing by the apex court, the foundation has challenged the order of the NGT rejecting the Goa Foundation’s contentions that the review committee could not have re-examined the plots identified as ‘final’ by the two expert committees.
The top court fixed the interlocutory application for further consideration after the government files its response on March 28, 2025.
