Napm goa

1. 25 years journey of struggle and reconstruction
National Alliance of People’s Movements
National Office: 6/6, Jungpura-B, New Delhi – 110014 |Ph:011-24374535
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SAVE GOA! SAVE WESTERN GHATS! STOP RECKLESS DESTRUCTION!
NAPM calls forreview of the four-lane highway, 400 KV transmission line and double tracking of
the railway line through the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park
Supreme Court must direct mandatory compliance of therecommendations in the
Western Ghats Ecology ExpertPanel Report
23rd
June, 2020:NAPM expresses serious concerns over the reckless issuance of ‘virtual
clearances’ to multiple infrastructure projects in environmentally sensitive areas of Goa by the
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Even as the country is
reeling under a pandemic and grappling with a poorly planned lockdown, the National Board for
Wildlife (NBWL) ‘video-approved’a four-lane highway and a 400 KV transmission line in the
eco-fragile Western Ghats on 7th
April. These projects are to be constructed right through the
forests of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park!
As if this is not enough, a third project related to the double tracking of the railway line passing
through the sanctuary and national park is also being considered by the Government. The three
projects would require cutting down of over 50,000 trees and diversion of 216 hectares of
forest and private land. This venture would also put the water-security of over 16 lakh
Goans in jeopardy as the projects would cut across the River Ragada, a tributary of Mhadei! It
has become a practice for project proponents to obtain ‘piece meal clearances’, while these
three linear projects, situated within the same protected area need a rigorous cumulative
impact assessment. It is a sad reflection on the state of environmental governance that the
MoEFCC and NBWL overlook these crucial statutory requirements.
Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, part of a larger contiguous
forest is a treasure trove of flora and fauna and is an important tiger corridor between Goa and
the adjoining Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. With an area of 240 sq. km, the Sanctuary and
the National Park constitute the largest protected area in Goa. This forest is part of the Western
Ghats, which is one of the 8 biodiversity hotspots of the world and part of the UNESCO World
Heritage Site. All three projects require diversion of forest land from this single protected area.
It is learnt that the protected area is home to more than 721 plant species, 235 bird species, 219
butterfly species, 80 odonate species, 70 mammal species, 75 ant species, 45 reptile species, 44
fish species, 43 fungi species, 27 amphibian species, 24 orchid species, and 18 species of
lichens. This list includes various endemic species as well as rare and vulnerable species such as
the tiger, dhole, mouse deer, gaur and the Indian pangolin, amongst others. In addition, there are
18 bird species that are endemic to the Western Ghats and 7 bird species that are of high
conservation concern found here (according to the State of India's Birds, 2020).
Besides the flora and fauna, these forests have fresh water streams that feed the main rivers
including Goa’s lifeline, river Mandovi. This river is a major source of potable water and
provides irrigation facilities, produces biotic and mineral resources and aids in travel of people
and goods to different parts of the state. The ancestral livelihoods of people living in the

2. villages, on the banks of these rivers will be severely affected by these projects. This area was
marked as an Ecologically Sensitive Area by the Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel
(WGEEP) in 2011, that was appointed by the very same Ministry that has now given
‘permission’ to speed up its destruction! The WGEEP (Madhav GadgilCommittee) submitted an
elaborate Report to MoEF, calling for restrictions on damaging activities like mining, quarrying
and red-category industries in the Western Ghats.Theforests in the Western Ghats also have
many sacred groves that have been protected by locals for centuries because of their association
with many deities and are, therefore, of tremendous cultural and conservation importance. No
plans to secure the water reserves of the state have been made public by the MoEFCC or
theGovernment of Goa.
Western Ghats areconsidered one of the most important tiger habitats in the world. Expanding
highway on one side and then and then double tracking of the South Western Railways will
leave the southern part of the Western Ghats disconnected from the northern part. This will lead
to the death of not only tigers, but also of the other numerous animals that will die under the
wheels of vehicles or on the railway tracks as they try to cross over.The Ghats are also
topographically not suitable for such projects. The hills here are very steep and hence, the
possibility of landslides increases exponentially putting both humans and nature at risk!The
Western Ghats of Goa have already been decimated in a huge way, the Tillari dam has led to a
loss of elephant habitats, relentless mining has also destroyed a significant part of the Ghats.
A recent petition filed in the Supreme Court by many environmental groups and young people,
seeks implementation of the recommendations issued by the WGEEP. On 18th
June, the Apex
Court took cognizance and issued notices to the Centre and the six states in the Western Ghats
regioni.e. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The petition
foregrounds the fact that the significant recommendations of the WGEEP remain un-
implemented even a decade later and almost 250 million people are directly and indirectly
bound to be affected by adverse ‘developmental’ interventions in the region.
These forests in the Western Ghats rangethat have existed for thousands of years are
irreplaceable. If these projects are cleared, they will have severe repercussions on wildlife and
for the livelihoods and ecological security of the people of Goa. It is extremely unfortunate that
the decision to clear large parts of these forests are being taken without any comprehensive site-
specific scrutiny to substantiate facts, examine documents in detail or consider the opinions and
objections of all stakeholders, in a fully democratic manner. Instead, the Environment Ministry
has been opting for a hasty ‘video conference mode’ and in the current case has granted
approval for these ecologically destructive projects after just two such meetings!
Concerned citizens and environmental groups in Goa have taken strong objection to the fact that
these projects have been given a ‘green’ by the NBWL, using poorly-done EIA (Highway
Project) or no EIA (Power Transmission line). No thorough verification of the EIAs and project
proposals have been done, showing the scant regard that regulatory bodies have towards such
eco-sensitive zones. The NBWL and MoEFCC have completely undermined the very purpose
of EIA, and rather than considering the evidence put forth by naturalists, conservationists and
the people living in these forests for centuries, have reposedunquestioned trust in the project
proponents, whose vested interests are not hidden.
NAPM urges the Centre, MoEFCC and the State Government to reconsider its model of
‘development’ and immediately re-assess the need for all such projects, which come at a huge
environmental and human cost.

3. NAPM demands that the approvals granted for thefour-lane highway and the 400 KV
transmission line be immediately withdrawn and that no clearance be granted to the double
tracking of the railway line passing through the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and
the Mollem National Park.
NAPM demands that the State and Central Government re-assess all the infrastructure
projects already underway in the Western Ghats and impose a moratorium on projects that
are likely to jeopardize the environment, as per the WGEEP Report. We call for strict
implementation of the recommendations by the Madhav Gadgil Committee (WGEEP Report)
to protect this fragile region and hope the Supreme Court will direct the same at the earliest.
We demand that all the infrastructure projects cleared by the Environment Ministry, without
any public participation and without conducting proper EIA, during the Corona lockdown, be
immediately halted and their clearances withdrawn.
We strongly urge the Central Government to reconsider its environmental policy and
withdraw the EIA Amendments, 2020 especially when our people are suffering due to Covid-
19, a pandemic greatly tied to the environmental degradation.
Medha Patkar, Narmada BachaoAndolan (NBA) and National Alliance of People’s Movements
(NAPM); Dr.Sunilam, Adv. Aradhna Bhargava, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti; Rajkumar Sinha,
ChutkaParmaanu Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, NAPM, Madhya Pradesh;
Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), National
Campaign for People’s Right to Information; Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL); Kailash Meena NAPM Rajasthan;
Prafulla Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan; Lingraj Azad, Samajwadi Jan Parishad &Niyamgiri
Suraksha Samiti, Manorama, PoscoPratirodh Sangram Samiti; Lingaraj Pradhan, Satya banchor,
Anant, Kalyan Anand, Arun Jena, Trilochan Punji, Lakshimipriya Mohanty and Balakrishna
Sand, Manas Patnaik, NAPM Odisha;
Sandeep Pandey (Socialist Party of India); Richa Singh & Rambeti (SangatinKisaan Mazdoor
Sangathan, Sitapur); Rajeev Yadav &Masihuddin bhai (RihaiManch, Lucknow &Azamgadh);
Arundhati Dhuru& Zainab Khatun (MahilaYuvaAdhikarManch, Lucknow), Suresh
Rathaur(MNREGA Mazdoor Union, Varanasi); Arvind Murti &Altamas Ansari (InquilabiKamgaar
Union, Mau),JagritiRahi(Vision Sansthan, Varanasi); Satish Singh (Sarvodayi Vikas Samiti, Varanasi);
Nakul Singh Sawney (Chal Chitra Abhiyan, Muzaffarnagar); NAPM Uttar Pradesh
P. Chennaiah, Andhra Pradesh VyavasayaVruthidarula Union-APVVU, Ramakrishnam Raju, United
Forum for RTI and NAPM, Chakri (Samalochana), BaluGadi, BapjiJuvvala, NAPM Andhra Pradesh;
Jeevan Kumar & Syed Bilal (Human Rights Forum), P. Shankar (Dalit Bahujan Front), Vissa Kiran
Kumar &Kondal (RythuSwarajya Vedika), Ravi Kanneganti (Rythu
JAC), Ashalatha (MAKAAM), Krishna (Telangana Vidyavantula Vedika-TVV), M.
Venkatayya (Telangana VyavasayaVruttidarula Union-TVVU), Meera Sanghamitra, Rajesh
Serupally, NAPM Telangana;
Sister Celia, Domestic Workers Union; Maj Gen (Retd) S.G.Vombatkere, NAPM, Nawaz, Dwiji,
Nalini, NAPM Karnataka
Gabriele Dietrich, Penn UrimayIyakkam, Madurai; Geetha Ramakrishnan, Unorganised Sector
Workers Federation; Suthanthiran, Suthanthiran, Lenin&Arul Doss, NAPM Tamilnadu;
Vilayodi Venugopal, CR Neelakandan, Prof. Kusumam Joseph, Sharath
Cheloor, VijayaraghavanCheliya, Majeendran, Magline, NAPM, Kerala;

4. DayamaniBarla, Aadivasi-MoolnivasiAstivtva Raksha Samiti; Basant Hetamsaria, AlokaKujur, Dr.
Leo A. Singh, Afzal Anish, Sushma Biruli, Durga Nayak, JipalMurmu, Priti Ranjan Dash, Ashok
Verma, NAPM Jharkhand;
Anand Mazgaonkar, Swati Desai, Krishnakant, Parth, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti; Nita Mahadev,
Mudita, Lok Samiti; Dev Desai, Mujahid Nafees, Ramesh Tadvi, Aziz Minat and Bharat
Jambucha, NAPM Gujarat;
Vimal Bhai,Matu Jan sangathan; Jabar Singh, Uma, NAPM, Uttarakhand;
Manshi Asher and Himshi Singh,Himdhara, NAPM Himachal Pradesh
Eric Pinto, Abhijeet, Tania Devaiahand Francesca, NAPM Goa
Gautam Bandopadhyay, NadiGhatiMorcha; KaladasDahariya, RELAA, Alok
ShuklaNAPM Chhattisgarh;
Samar Bagchi, Amitava Mitra, Binayak Sen, SujatoBhadro, Pradip Chatterjee, PasarulAlam,
Amitava Mitra, Tapas Das, Tahomina Mandal, Pabitra Mandal, Kazi Md. Sherif, Biswajit Basak,
Ayesha Khatun, Rupak Mukherjee, Milan Das, Asit Roy, Mita Bhatta, Yasin, Matiur Rahman,
Baiwajit Basa, NAPM West Bengal;
Suniti SR, Sanjay M G, SuhasKolhekar, Prasad Bagwe, Mukta Srivastava, Yuvraj Gatkal, Geetanjali
Chavan, Bilal Khan, Jameela, GharBachaoGharBanaoAndolan; Chetan Salve, Narmada
BachaoAndolan, NAPM Maharashtra;
Faisal Khan, KhudaiKhidmatgar, J S Walia, NAPM Haryana;
Guruwant Singh, NAPM Punjab;
Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan; Mahendra Yadav, Kosi Navnirman
Manch; Sister Dorothy, Aashray Abhiyan, NAPM Bihar;
Rajendra Ravi, NAPM; Bhupender Singh Rawat, Jan Sangharsh Vahini; Anjali
Bharadwaj and Amrita Johri, SatarkNagrikSangathan; Sanjeev Kumar, Dalit Adivasi Shakti
AdhikarManch; Anita Kapoor, Delhi ShahriMahilaKaamgaar Union; Sunita Rani, National Domestic
Workers Union; Nanhu Prasad, National Cyclist Union; Madhuresh Kumar, Priya Pillai, Aryaman
Jain, Divyansh Khurana, Evita Das; Anil TV, Delhi Solidarity Group, MJ Vijayan (PIPFPD)
For any further details, contact: Ph:7337478993, 9869984803 orE-mail: napmindia@gmail.com