Cong protests shifting of Goa's jurisdiction to NGT Del bench

The Congress today protested the Union environment ministry's decision to bring Goa under the jurisdiction of the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Delhi.

The party has written to Union Environment and Forest Minister Harsh Vardhan against the recent notification shifting Goa's jurisdiction from the Pune bench.

"People of Goa are deeply hurt over the decision of the Ministry to bring Goa under the jurisdiction of the Principal bench of NGT," state unit Congress president Shantaram Naik said in the letter.

He said the notification issued on August 10 is "illogical and malicious" considering the distance between the two states as compared to the distance between Goa and Pune.

NGT Pune was earlier empowered to entertain the cases filed from Goa.

"Considering the international image of Goa, where certain sensitive environmental issues crop every now and then, the Ministry should have considered establishing an independent bench of NGT in Goa. But by shifting its jurisdiction, the Ministry has given a death blow to the state," he said.

Naik said the notification amounts to the "violation of human rights".

"We demand that steps be taken to withdraw the notification immediately," he said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)