Panaji (Goa) : Justice Prithviraj Chavan of the Bombay High Court at Goa today directed that notice be issued to the Merces Panchayat on the contempt of Court petition filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues over the inaction of the authorities against the continued dumping of building debris and garbage along the Panaji-Old Goa bypass road. Justice Chavan adjourned the matter to October 31st for further hearing.
Appearing on behalf of the State of Goa, Adv. Pravin Phaldesai pleaded that notice not be issued yet to the Government as he would first file a detailed reply before the next hearing on the steps taken by the Government in the matter.
Submitting before Justice Chavan that the dumping of debris and garbage along a eco-sensitive area was an unpardonable crime against the environment, Adv. Rodrigues pointed out that a Division bench of the High Court comprising of Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Nutan Sardessai had recently observed that ‘Goa is a land truly worth fighting for’,
Adv. Rodrigues in his contempt petition has pointed out that in 2007 a Public Interest Litigation was filed over the rampant dumping of building debris along the Panaji-Old Goa bypass road and that taking serious note of the gross violations of law, various orders came to be passed by the High Court in that petition which was finally disposed on 26th June 2008 based on a Minutes of Order that was signed and submitted to the Court.
Adv. Rodrigues has further stated that in the Minutes of Order the Goa Government had undertaken to continue and take to its logical conclusion investigations into the dumping of construction debris on the Panaji-Old Goa bypass.
Adv. Rodrigues has also stated that in the Minutes of Order amongst other things the Government had also undertaken to within three months identify and designate separate places for safe disposal of building debris without harming the environment besides also having undertaken to within three months identify and place at proper convenient locations public receptacles, depots or places for temporary deposit or collection of non-biodegradable garbage.
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that it was very anguishing that it is almost a decade and over the years the Goa Government has done nothing to comply with the solemn undertaking given to the High Court on 26th June 2008 and that the malafied conduct of the authorities amounts to rank disobedience to the orders of the Court.
Pointing out that in rank contempt of Court debris and garbage has continued to be dumped unabated along the same stretch of the bypass with the situation getting bad to worse by the day having now reached a point of crisis, Adv. Rodrigues submitted photographs removed on 15th October 2017 showing the debris and garbage dumped along the Panaji-Old Goa bypass.
Stating that it was very appalling that the authorities have been turning a Nelson’s eye to this gross violation of law and acting contrary to the solemn undertaking given to the Court, Adv. Rodrigues has stated that the blatant and continued gross inaction of the government on the issue amounts to scant respect to the Majesty of the highest Court of the State.
Adv. Rodrigues pointed out that on 25th July, 2007 while the Advocate General assured the Court that the unlawful dumping of debris would be investigated by the Old Goa Police Station, the Court had also directed the Village Panchayat of Merces to take urgent steps to remove the debris and dispose it off in accordance with the Rules.
Adv. Rodrigues has further pointed out that on 24th August, 2007 the Advocate General had submitted to the Court that appropriate steps would be taken to entrust the investigation to some other competent Officer, while on 10th September, 2007 the Advocate General informed the Court that the Investigation had been handed over to Police Inspector Sandesh Chodankar attached to the Crime Branch and that the matter was being pursued seriously.
