Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has served a notice to the Goa government following a petition that challenges the environmental clearance (EC) granted for sand mining activities in the Mandovi River. The notice was issued by the NGT’s Western Zone Bench, comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and Expert Member Dr. Vijai Kulkarni, on June 16. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on July 14.
The petition was filed by the Goa River Sand Protection Network (GRSPN), which has raised objections to the EC granted by the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) on February 3, 2025. The clearance had been issued to the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) for carrying out sand extraction in Zone 5 of the Mandovi River near Khandola, Ponda taluka. The approved area covers 4.3 hectares with a limit of 1,000 cubic metres of annual extraction per permit, using traditional methods.
GRSPN contended that the site falls within a Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA) and is classified as CRZ-IVB under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011, which prohibits sand mining in such zones. The petition also alleges that Goa-SEIAA granted the EC without securing the mandatory recommendation from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), thereby violating CRZ norms.
The NGT also directed that notices be issued regarding the application for condonation of delay, returnable within two weeks. Meanwhile, the State government has approached the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) seeking an amendment to the CRZ Notifications of 2011 and 2019 to allow sand mining under regulated conditions.
