MANOHAR PARRIKAR’S U-TURN ON NGT EXPOSED

Good Governance must be the underlying consideration in every decision taken by the Government. The very ill-conceived move by the Government to transfer Goa cases before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) from Pune to Delhi will not stand the test of Judicial Scrutiny.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on 12th June 2014 had publicly demanded a bench of the NGT in Goa instead of the existing one in Pune.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Manohar-Parrikar-seeks-National-Green-Tribunal-bench-in-Goa/articleshow/36406119.cms

Now this very devious decision to transfer Goa related cases in the NGT from Pune to Delhi has been done with ulterior motives and being an anti-people move has to be fought against tooth and nail. It is a clear attempt to deny justice to the common man by allowing the State to ignore or even partake in environmental violations. By the very illogical notification issued Goa, Daman and Diu are now clubbed with the North Zone whilst the Western Zone comprises of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Has the Government lost track of Geography? How did the Central Government merely act as a post office to issue such a notification without taking all factors into consideration?

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s absurd justification that the Goa Government does not have a legal set up at Pune is ludicrous. Are courts and Tribunals set up for convenience of lawyers or to serve the litigants? We should not forget that the denial of justice would also encompass denial of reach to the doors of the Courts.

There is no legal set up of the Goa Government required in Pune as things at NGT Pune have been running so smoothly all these years. Despite the thrust of the Supreme Court being to bring the wheels of Justice closer and more accessible to the public, the Government took this very cavalier decision of burdening the people of Goa to travel all the way to Delhi for seeking justice in NGT related matters. Instead of bringing justice to the doorstep, this is clearly a ploy to keep the Temples of Justice out of reach and possibly to only benefit Atmaram Nadkarni and his huge coterie of Advocates stationed in Delhi.

And if the Government were to only strictly enforce the law by not allowing any environmental and CRZ violations there would be no need of anyone going to the NGT. The Government should work in this direction which would curb all unnecessary litigation.

ngt

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