Socorro's pvt forest v/s IT park hearing on Apr 3

PANAJI: The status of the proposed information technology (IT) park at Socorro, which was scrapped by the government earlier, will be known as soon as Infotech corporation of Goa will spell out its plans to the national green tribunal (NGT).

A petition filed by Goa Foundation, a Mapusa-based NGO before the Bombay high court at Goa challenging the setting up of the project, as the proposed site has been partly identified as a private forest, had been recently transferred to NGT.

When the matter came up recently before NGT, the counsel for Infotech corporation stated that the status of the project is clearly outlined in the affidavit filed by its managing director before the high court on March 17, 2010.

But the tribunal stated that it could not find the affidavit in the case transferred from the high court.

The tribunal observed that as per the report of Goa's chief conservator of forest, the area in Socorro proposed to be developed earlier as an IT park, prima facie had basic elements of a forest, but a ground survey and suitable demarcation was needed to identify the exact area.

Though the government had scrapped the project, speculation was rife that the Infotech corporation was seeking to put up some infrastructure at the site.

While the next hearing has been fixed on April 3, 2014, the forest department has assured NGT that documents to provide status of the ongoing survey at Socorro, to identify and demarcate private forest land, will be placed before the tribunal.