PANAJI: The National Green Tribunal NGT ), principal bench, New Delhi, has declined to relax its order restraining the government from granting environment clearance till all states submit their coastal zone management plans (CZMP) to the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC).The tribunal extended the time to prepare these coastal plans to August 31. It, however, ordered that further progress in the matter be brought on record by April 30 this year. The matter has now been fixed for hearing on May 9.The tribunal’s attention was drawn to the Supreme Court’s order dated January 21 this year, allowing liberty to applicants to approach the NGT with prayers for relaxation of the stay order granted by the tribunal.The tribunal’s judges stated that the stay granted by it in its order dated November 22, 2017, was to the effect that environment clearance (EC) may not be granted till finalisation of coastal plans and that it was issued at the request of the MoEFCC.On September 4 last year, the National Highways Authority of India had filed a miscellaneous application, wherein the tribunal directed the ministry to take a call in the matter as soon as the coastal plan was submitted.In this application, the tribunal had noted that it had already directed that the CZMP be submitted to the MoEFCC by August 31, 2019.Further, the tribunal held that it is for the state to submit the CZMP and that no further order was necessary at this stage. “It is clear that the duration of stay is not for indefinite period and only till submission of CZMP by the state,” the order states.The tribunal added that the applicant is at liberty to move the state for expediting the process to submit the CZMP, as already observed, if such report has still not been submitted.The issue of finalising the CZMP for the state has been delayed for a few years due to various reasons. The deadline has been extended frequently. Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) had submitted the draft CZMP to the Goa government on May 9, 2017.Last year, representatives of the NCSCM had made constituency-wise presentations of the draft CZMP to MLAs and ministers, who had strongly raised objections to the draft plan.

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