The Goa Government’s decision to allot mining leases in national parks and sanctuaries came for scrutiny in the Supreme Court which observed that instead of saving the sanctuaries, the bureaucracy “circumvent” the law to save the mines.
The indictment of State Government came while the Court was considering a bunch of petitions challenging illegal mining activity in the State. Pointing out the flaws committed in allocation of mining leases by the State Government, the counsel for the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), assisting the Court on environment and forest related cases, showed how 19 mining leases were allotted within the area of Netravali Sanctuary.
The bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik said, “The approach of the State has been to circumvent the law.” Blatant misuse and abuse of law was evident as CEC showed mines to operate within one-kilometre radius of the sanctuary in respect of 23 mining leases, which had obtained Environmental Clearance (EC) from Union Environment Ministry.
“It looks like the sanctuary is inconvenient to mines and therefore attempts were made to reduce it. It should be the other way round that mine is inconvenient to the sanctuary,” said the bench, also comprising Justices SS Nijjar and FMI Kalifulla.
Noting this to be a result of “weak bureaucracy”, the bench observed, “Our country will be very safe if there is a strong and neutral bureaucracy that will fairly and correctly advise. If it is crushed and broken what is the result…this is how the entire governance is getting affected.”