The Tribunal also issued notices to the state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu seeking their replies on the plea for implementation of the report by Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) on the protection and preservation of Western Ghats.
The plea by two NGOs, Goa Foundation and Peaceful Society, told the Tribunal that the MoEF had set up the WGEEP in March 2010, given the environmental sensitivity and ecological significance of the region.
The WGEEP in its report to MoEF dated August 31, 2011 has designated the entire Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area and categorised the whole region in three classes according to their ecological sensitivities.
The NGOs sought to restrain the authorities from granting fresh nods to projects in regions in the first two categories which include 97 talukas in 44 districts of six states.
The WGEEP had in its report recommended that no mining should be allowed in the Western Ghats in Goa.
For mining activities in other areas in two categories, WGEEP had recommended that no new licenses should to be given and where mining exists, it should be phased out in five years, by 2016. (MORE)
