The National Green Tribunal has sought the reply of
Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on a plea against grant
of any clearance to any new project in ecologically sensitive Western
Ghats.
The Tribunal also issued notices to the state
governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil
Nadu seeking their replies on the plea for implementation of the report
by Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) on the protection and
preservation of Western Ghats.
The plea by two NGOs,
Goa Foundation and Peaceful Society, told the Tribunal that the MoEF had
set up the WGEEP in March 2010, given the environmental sensitivity and
ecological significance of the region.
The WGEEP in
its report to MoEF dated August 31, 2011 has designated the entire
Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area and categorised the
whole region in three classes according to their ecological
sensitivities.
The NGOs sought to restrain the
authorities from granting fresh nods to projects in regions in the first
two categories which include 97 talukas in 44 districts of six states.
The WGEEP had in its report recommended that no mining should be allowed in the Western Ghats in Goa.
For
mining activities in other areas in two categories, WGEEP had
recommended that no new licenses should to be given and where mining
exists, it should be phased out in five years, by 2016.
The
committee had also recommended that no new polluting industry should be
allowed in the regions of the first two categories and non-polluting
industries may be allowed with strict regulation and social audit.
The NGOs have sought an interim order seeking directions that no fresh clearances be granted to projects in the two categories.
“Direct
the respondents not to issue any consent, Environment Clearance, No
Objection Certificate or permission under the Environment (Protection)
Act 1986, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, Forest (Conservation)
Act 1980 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 within the Western Ghats
area in respect of areas which have been demarcated as Ecologically
Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1), Ecologically Sensitive Zone 2,” the petition
stated.
Terming the Western Ghats as “hotspots of
biodiversity”, the petition stated that the region harbours the largest
global populations of the Asian Elephant and besides other mammals such
as tiger.
“By and large the Western Ghats have been
subjected to a rapid erosion of natural capital with the building up of
man-made capital, regrettably imposing excessive, unnecessary
environmental damage in the process, accompanied by a degradation of
social capital as well,” the petition said.
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