By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr, 22: The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommendations relating to the double tracking project in Goa.

A special three-judge bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bhushan Gava, which was constituted to hear the balance of the challenge by the railways on the recommendations of the CEC for cancelling the double tracking proposal of the South Western Railway and the RVNL.

The matter was almost fully heard on April 7, 2022, after the Tamnar order had been passed. However, the counsel for the railways pleaded for permission to file additional documents and for further arguments.

Though the documents were filed on Thursday, counsel for the railways was absent and another counsel asked for the matter to be adjourned.
Justice Rao appeared unhappy since the bench had been specially constituted for this. On hearing the request, Justice Rao refused it and announced the hearings were going to be treated as completed and declared that the matter was reserved for judgement by the court.

During the last hearing on April 7, the Supreme Court had accepted the CEC recommendations of using the 220 kV line alignment for the new 400 kV Tamnar power line alignment and not to use fresh forest areas in Mollem for the power line project.

The Court had posted two other petitions – contempt petition against the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL) for felling of some 3000 trees at Sangod, the site of the proposed sub-station and had also adjourned the application of the GTTPL for permitting it to obtain a conversion sanad. Earlier, the Court had decided that it would hear the contempt petition before it heard the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited application for the conversion sanad.

The CEC had said, “It does not find any justification for undertaking the rail double tracking project in Goa, which is being opposed by environmentalists. In its report, the CEC said, “A project of this nature would destroy the Western Ghat’s fragile eco-system, which is a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot as well as one of the country’s most important wildlife corridors.

The doubling of the railway track is among the three linear projects in Goa opposed by environmentalists in the state. The South Western Railway (SWR) has commissioned the doubling of the 15.2-km railway line between Sanvordem-Chandorgoa-Margao in South Goa.

Several locals groups had raised objections over three linear projects, including double-tracking of the South Western Railway line, four-laning of a national highway and a laying of a power transmission line by the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Limited (GTTPL).