WEDNESDAY MARCH 5, 2025 14 pages Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 256 Instagram.com/thegoanonline Central panel rejects Goa plea on forest land for double track STATE HAD SOUGHT REVOCATION OF ABEYANCE ORDER ON FOREST LAND FOR KULEM-KALEM RAILWAY TRACK DOUBLING PROJECT SHWETA KAMAT MAHATME THE GOAN I PANAJI In a major setback to the Goa government, the Regional Empowered Committee (REC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has declined State’s request seeking revocation of abeyance order on diversion of 15.6 ha of forest for the Kulem-Kalem section of railway track doubling project. Stating that the KulemKalem section of the project falls within the protected areas of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, the REC has directed user agencies including Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) to undertake detail analysis of the impact of proposed project on the biodiversity and ecology of the protected areas of the wildlife sanctuary. PANEL’S TAKE ON RAILWAY DOUBLE TRACK „„Kulem-Kalem section falls within protected areas of Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary „„User agencies to undertake detail analysis of impact of proposed project on biodiversity and ecology „„Slams user agencies saying “operative part of SC order has to be read in its spirit” „„Goa forest dept was As Goa and RVNL claimed that the Supreme Court order dated May 9, 2022 is only binding on the proposal from Castle Rock to Kulem section and not the Kulem-Kalem section, REC, slammed the user agencies and said “operative part also of view that there is not much difference with respect to ecological ON THE FLIP SIDE… „„Goa had approached REC seeking revocation of an abeyance order on diversion of 15.6 hectares of forest land „„Diversion was in favour of SWR and RVNL along KulemKalem section of railway track „„Goa & RVNL claimed SC order is only binding on proposal from Castle Rock to Kulem section and not KulemKalem section of the Supreme Court order has to be read in its spirit”. “REC after detailed deliberation did not agree to the request made by the State government/RVNL and directed the user agency/state government to expand the scope of From humble beginnings to fashion icon: The journey of couture by Neha INTO FINALS K L Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja celebrate as India defeated Australia by 4 wickets to enter the final of Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday. India will take on the winners of the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand to be played in Lahore on Wednesday. (Report on pg 12) IN SHORT >> Pay hike, permanent jobs for GHRDC staff 3 groups file plaints against Bhembre CANACONA: Three different groups on Tuesday lodged police complaints against Uday Bhembre at the Canacona police station, in connection with his comments on Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj.  >> See pg 2 study to the proposed KulemKalem section as it is also part of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary,” reads the minutes of the meeting held on February 26. The State had approached the REC seeking revocation of an abeyance order on the diversion of 15.6 hectares of forest land along the KulemKalem section of the railway track falling under the North Goa Forest Division in favour of South Western Railway and RVNL. The diversion is part of the controversial track doubling project between Tinaighat in Karnataka and Vasco da Gama in Goa that had its wildlife clearances revoked by the Supreme Court in 2022 based on recommendations by the court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC). “REC is of the view that though the Supreme Court has not specifically mentioned about the remaining sections, but the operative part of the judgment has to be read in its spirit as it has also directed the user agency to carry out >Continued on P5 Investment scam: Crime Branch DUBAI DELIGHT sleuths arrest INDIA MARCHES another accused >> pg 7 PANAJI: As a step towards providing job and financial security to the employees of Goa Human Resource Development Corporation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made a series of announcements on par with government staffers, including a pay hike, permanent job status, house loan allowance, bonuses etc.  >> See pg 3 diversity between Castle Rock-Kulem section and Kulem-Kalem section Relief for former SEBI chief, five others as HC stays FIR PTI MUMBAI The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed for four weeks a special court's order directing FIR against former SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations, noting it was passed mechanically. A single bench of Justice Shivkumar Dige said the special court order of March 1 also did not attribute any specific role to the accused in the matter. “After hearing all the parties concerned and after going through the order of the special court, it appears that the order is passed mechanical- ly without going into details and without attributing any specific role to the applicants (Buch and others),” Justice Dige said. “Hence, the order is stayed till next date. Four weeks time is given to the complainant in the case (Sapan Shrivastava) to file his affidavit in reply to >Continued on P5 DELHI HC GRANTS BAIL TO WRESTLER SUSHIL KUMAR IN MURDER CASE  >> P14 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Crime Branch arrested Deepali Parab, wife of absconding accused Myron Rodrigues in connection with the ongoing investigation into multi-crore investment scam that defrauded investors. Parab, 42, hailing from Kalyan in Mumbai had been on the run. SP (CB) Rahul Gupta confirmed the arrest stating that an investigation revealed Parab’s direct involvement in the fraudulent scheme. “The investigation revealed that the main accused, Myron Rodrigues, and his wife cheated investors by promising high returns on their investments. The duo collected crores of rupees from investors, which they later misappropriated,” Gupta said. Meanwhile, Sunita Rodrigues, ex-wife of Myron, who was previously arrested on December 7, 2024, and later released on bail, was taken into custody by MHB Colony Police (Mumbai) in January 2025 for her alleged involvement in another high-profile case. Finally, mid-day meal makers begin getting unsettled dues Department clears payment of two months THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Directorate of Education has started clearing the pending dues of the 98 self-help groups (SHGs), serving midday meal across 1400-odd schools. The department has settled the bills for the month of August and September, 2024, as on date while the bills for the month of October are being scrutinized. The Goan had reported about the non-payment to SHGs since August, last year, as the available mid-day meal funds were exhausted. The total dues to be paid to the SHGs is around Rs 13-odd crore. There are 98 SHGs and nine Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) currently supplying the meal to over 1.60 lakh students across Goa. When contacted, Director Education Shailesh Zingade confirmed that the department has cleared the payment for August and September, 2024. Mid-day  meal  expenses for 15 @thegoanonline approximately 1,400 schools across the state are expected to reach Rs 38.27 crore for the current academic year. Of this, Rs 18.78 crore will be borne by the Centre, with the rest contributed by the State. With effect from December, last year, the government hiked the mid-day meal rates paid to SHGs. As per revised rates, SHGs will be paid  Rs 8.75 per student per  day  for 100gms of the  meal  at the pre-primary (of government and government-aided schools) as against Rs 8 and on ry log on to thegoan.net Fe b r ua primary level, and Rs 11.12 per student per day for 150gms of the  meal  for upper primary school students against earlier rate of Rs 10. Non-payment of their bills periodically and regularly, is a common complaint of the mid-day meal suppliers to schools across the State. On several occasions in the recent past, they even threatened to temporarily discontinued food supply to the students.  Minor traffic slip sparks night feud in Candolim M’RASHTRA MLA’s SON, 2 LOCALS BOOKED THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA A late-night verbal altercation over a minor driving issue led to a case being registered against Maharashtra SP MLA Abu Azmi’s son, Abu Farhan Azmi and two locals in Candolim. The incident, which occurred near the popular Newton Super Market, involved allegations of public nuisance and disturbance of peace. Incidentally, Abu Farhan Azmi is the husband of Bollywood actress Ayesha Takia. According to the Calangute Police, the dispute began when Azmi, who was driving ahead of a vehicle occupied by locals, allegedly took a turn without using an indicator. The locals, angered by the maneuver, stopped Azmi’s car and confronted him. As Ayesha Takia: Hatred for M’rashtra reached unbelievable heights in Goa PANAJI: Accusing local Goan goons of threatening and tormenting her family for hours, Bollywood actress Ayesha Takia has said the hatred for Maharashtra has reached unbelievable heights in Goa. “It was a night of horror for our family up until this morning... My husband and son were Abu Azmi and Ayesha Takia. brutally bullied and scared for their life as local Goan goons mobbed, threatened, and tormented them for hours,” stated Takia on social media. >Continued on P5 the argument escalated, more residents gathered at the scene in support of the locals. During the exchange, Azmi reportedly identified himself as the son of an MLA and allegedly threatened the locals, claiming he was in possession of a firearm.  Police were called to the scene and managed to defuse the situation, taking both parties to the Calangute >Continued on P5 Cops book offences AS TEMPERATURES SOAR & HUMIDITY LEVELS RISE against protesters Govt turns to technology to monitor, prevent forest fires THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA Porvorim police on Tuesday registered offences against unknown protestors for forming an unlawful assembly at Vodakkodem-Porvorim and obstructing public servants TEMPLE PROTEST during the process of translocation of the banyan tree and removal of religious structure. Jude A D Carvalho, PWD Executive Engineer, Work Division-VII (NH) filed a police complaint stating that some unknown protestors formed an unlawful assembly at Vodakkodem, in Survey No 393/3 of Socorro-Porvorim between 6.15 am on March 2 and March 3. He stated that the protesters obstructed and abused the public servants from carrying out the work to translocate the banyan tree and remove a religious structure, which were causing hindrance and obstruction for construction of six-lane elevated corridor. Carvalho stated that the protesters had also used criminal force to deter them from discharging their duties. VIBHA VERMA THE GOAN I PANAJI W ith temperatures soaring to 36-37°C and humidity levels remaining high, the Forest Department has intensified its efforts to monitor and prevent forest fires through the real-time data from the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS).   Officials are racing to prevent a repeat of the fire incidents that engulfed forests exactly two years ago on March 5, 2023. The disaster, spanning 15 days, saw 95 fire TACKLI N G FI R ES: A ST I TCH I N T I M E „„Officials racing to prevent repeat of fire incidents that engulfed forests two years ago „„Real-time alerts being received through Forest Survey of India app *Officials, guards keeping 24x7 watch „„Dept has set up 5-6 incidents turning the green cover into ash.  Nodal Forest Officer (Fire) watchtowers in each wildlife area to ensure continuous monitoring  Nandakumar Parab said that despite the high risk given the soaring temperatures, only 2-3 „„Round-the-clock control room (1926 helpline) set up in Panaji „„Cashew farmers also being made aware of fire risks „„Only 2-3 minor fire incidents reported so far which were quickly brought under control minor fire incidents have been reported so far, all of which were quickly brought under control. “We are receiving real-time alerts through the Forest Survey of India app. We have had a few fire incidents; they were minor and doused immediately. Our officials and guards are keeping a 24/7 watch,” he said, speaking to The Goan. The department has also set up 5-6 watchtowers in each wildlife area to ensure continuous monitoring.  In addition to surveillance, the department has set up a round-the-clock control room (1926 helpline) in Panaji. Cashew farmers, whose plantations are located on the fringes of forest areas, are also being made aware of fire risks, especially as the harvesting season is underway.   Just two days ago, a forest fire at Orgao-Tivrem was prevented from spreading further after 50 fire personnel including 20 new recruits were deployed from Kundaim, Ponda and the headquarters in Panaji. Fire tenders from these stations were used to contain the flames. Fire Director Nitin Raiker confirmed that all fire stations are on high alert. “This is the season when fires can break out suddenly in dry grasslands >Continued on P5