Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: With the National Green Tribunal (NGT) postponing the case hearing until January 7, 2025, the battle over the proposed new high-level Borim bridge is expected to continue.
Reports indicate that the government will not move forward with any work related to acquiring the land that currently belongs to the farmers, even though the farmer groups stated that they would proceed with their petition in the High Court against the new bridge construction and land acquisition for it regardless of the NGT verdict.
Farmers from Borim and Loutolim petitioned NGT to stop the bridge’s construction. The farmers have claimed that the project does not have environmental, forest, and other clearances, and that the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations protect the Khazan lands, where a section of the bridge will be built.
The State and Central governments, who have been requesting more time in relation to this issue since May 2024, submitted another plea during this hearing for more time to address the petitioners’ arguments. In court, the petitioners questioned the government’s request for more time.
Although a copy of this order has not yet been made public, sources claimed that the NGT bench decided to postpone the case for one month, until January 7 of the next year. The farmer groups, which fervently hoped that Monday’s hearing would have marked the end of the NGT hearing and provided them with decisive legal involvement in the matter, were greatly disappointed by this news.
Farmers suspect that the government is purposefully prolonging the NGT case in order to avoid a legal barrier to the project at this or previous phases.
