Panaji: The Bombay High Court at Goa has issued notice to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) in a public interest litigation filed by Goa Foundation and Colva Civic & Consumer Forum challenging the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2019.
The Division Bench comprising of Justice Prithviraj Chavan and Justice RD Dhanuka has directed MoEF to submit its reply by April 22, when the matter would be heard next.
The NGOs had moved High Court alleging that the impugned CRZ notification is contrary to settled principles of environmental law, sustainable development and intergenerational equity.
They had alleged that the notification intends to allow unwarranted expansion of activities/projects in ecologically fragile coastal environments thereby violating the aims, objects and provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Rules issued there under.
The petitioner stated that the notification makes vast and unjustified reductions in No-Development Zones (NDZ) and other provisions installed in the 2011 CRZ notification.
