The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday pulled up the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for not filing its response and causing undue delay on the pleas against the clearance given to felling of trees for widening of National Highway-7 (Mansar-Khawasa) road on border of Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra.
A Bench, headed by Justice UD Salvi, blamed NTCA for its lackadaisical approach and allowed it one last opportunity to file its reply. It has directed its Member-Secretary to be personally present before it on July 31, the next date of hearing. During the hearing, the counsel for NTCA argued that the draft reply was pending with Environment Ministry and therefore it could not file its reply on time.
The Tribunal was hearing the pleas of three NGOs —Conservation Action Trust, Nature Conservation Society and Srushti Paryavaran Mandal. As per their stand, widening of road would cause irreparable damage to the Kanha-Pench Tiger reserve.
The NGOs had contended that permission of National Board for Wildlife was mandatory under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for the widening of NH-7, which was not followed.
In its earlier hearing on July 3, the Tribunal blamed MoEF for relaxing the condition that no National Board for Wildlife permission was required for widening of NH-7, which is adjacent to Pench Tiger Reserve and Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary.
It had questioned under “what authority of law” the Environment Ministry had relaxed the condition while terming the act as making ‘mockery of law.’
The green panel had on May 6 ordered stay on felling of trees and directed Maharashtra Government not to cut trees. The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court had allowed tree felling, terming the green body as ‘some Tribunal created under some law.’