The National Green Tribunal on Friday granted three weeks’ time to the State government to submit its reply on anomalies in environmental and coastal regulatory zone clearances given for constructing a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea off the southern coast of Mumbai.
A Bench comprising Justice U.D. Salavi and Justice Dr. Ajay Deshpande expressed displeasure at the absence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) at the hearing. It also resolved to continue the case “ex-parte”, if the MoEF continues to skip the hearing. The Bench was hearing an Environment Interest Litigation plea filed by the Maharashtra Macchimar Kriti Samiti, which represents the State’s fishing community. The Samiti claimed that the MoEF granted environmental clearances without conducting a public hearing and taking the mandatory consent of opposing parties.
It held the State responsible for not conducting a public hearing before the MoEF’s Environment Assessment Committee, citing “larger public interest”. It said that the green clearances were given by the MoEF based on the memorial’s stature as a ‘national monument’.
Advocate Aseem Sarode, the legal representative of the applicants, said the State sought extension in filing its reply claiming late receipt of the notice from the NGT. This pushed back solicitation of information from various departments involved in the project. He said the State initially asked for a four-week extension, but the court set October 24 as the date for the next hearing. The legal representatives of the State remained unavailable for comment.
