NGT gives Centre 4 weeks to reply in Borim bridge matter

Panaji: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has granted a time of four weeks to the Union ministry of environment, forests, and climate change (MoEF&CC) to file a reply affidavit in the matter of the Borim bridge project.
The ministry has been told to submit its say on whether the project would require environmental clearance or not. The matter will be heard next on Jan 7, 2025.
The NGT said that this is the last opportunity for the ministry to file its reply.
A group of villagers from Loutolim and Borim had filed an application before the NGT earlier this year, challenging the project.
Subsequently, in its hearing held in Sep, the tribunal had asked the ministry to file the reply affidavit. But the same could not be filed, and the ministry had sought additional time, which has now been granted.
“We had directed MoEF&CC to file a reply affidavit, particularly stating therein as to whether the project in question would require environmental clearance or not. They could not submit it in the additional four weeks’ time. It was learnt from counsel Shubham Rathod, holding the brief of Rahul Garg, representing MoEF&CC, that Garg underwent some surgery. We had allowed the time by way of last opportunity,” the NGT said.
Meanwhile, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has stated that state authorities have submitted an application for approval for the Borim bridge project under CRZ norms.
The coastal authority said the application is pending consideration and will be processed soon.
The villagers from Borim and Loutolim, in their main application filed before the NGT, have said that the area of the Borim bridge project will cover around 1.8 lakh sqm. The residents have said that the project would therefore require the environmental clearances, which, they have claimed, has not been acquired by the state.