------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660 Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Press Clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apex court sets aside HC order for demolition of Betim project --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In an interesting development, the Supreme Court of India has set aside an order of the Panjim Bench of the Bombay High Court which had ordered demolition of the Tata Housing Development Corporation Limited project at Betim.The multi-crore luxury housing project over looking the Mandovi River at Betim was in the news way back in October 1998 when a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had been filed by an NGO alleging that the project was causing environmental degradation and destruction of forest cover.The HC in its judgement had directed the THDCL to remove all developments works undertaken.
The Tata Housing Development Corporation Ltd thereafter moved a Special Leave Application against the judgement of High Court. The apex court, in an order dated September 17, 2003, has upheld the appeal of THDCL and has set aside the impugned judgement of the Panjim Bench of the Bombay High Court.
The Supreme Court in its order referred to various committee reports submitted by Sadanand Sawant entitled as the "Sawant Interim Committee" reports and also questioned findings of this State government constituted committee at various junctures.While the main contention against the project was that it was on forest land, the Apex Court observed that the land on which the project is coming up did not fulfill the criteria laid down in guidelines issued by the State government under three criteria specified for the purpose of identifying forests.
The court observed that the Sawant Committee in its third interim report laid down another set of criteria for classifying a forest such as Satellite Imagery and Toposheets of 1960, report of sub-committee for maintaining nature reserve green belt around cities and enumeration of plants in a 50 metre wide belt adjoining the boundaries of the appellants' plot.
Referring to the criteria in the third interim report, the court observed as follows: "The course adopted by the committee in taking into consideration different criteria while examining individual case of the appellants' plot was wholly unwarranted, especially when the Committee in its report has not assigned any reason for making the deviation.'
The court also notes as follows: "The second interim report of the Sawant Committee had rejected nature reserve green belt map as a relevant consideration for holding land to be forest on the ground that the same would show all types of vegetation including cashew crop etc, as such in the third interim report the committee was not justified in placing reliance upon the report of the sub-committee for maintaining Nature Reserve around the city."
It notes further: "The committee was not justified in holding the appellants' plot to be forest land on the basis of altogether different criteria for which there is no reasonable nexus, especially when none of the three criteria laid down in the second interim report has been adhered to."
"Thus the High Court was not justified in accepting the third interim report of the Sawant Committee and concluding on the basis thereof that the appellants' plot was a forest," the apex court observed while passing its judgement and setting aside the High Court order. This Apex Court order was passed by Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice B N Agarwal. -------------------------------------- HERALD 16/10/03 page 3 -------------------------------------- ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
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