The Bombay High Court on Wednesday struck down the Centre’s notification, which had attempted to transfer the National Green Tribunal’s jurisdiction for Goa-related cases from Pune to Delhi.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued the notification on August 10, citing lack of connectivity between Goa and Pune and absence of an office in the town as reasons for the relocation, IANS reported. The High Court bench in Panaji had taken suo motu cognisance of the notification in September.

Activists had alleged that the Centre was trying to stifle the conservation movement in Goa, as half of the cases in the NGT were cases from the state, The Indian Express reported. They had claimed that while Pune was a night’s journey from Goa for a cheaper road fare, travelling to Delhi on short notice will be expensive.

The High Court bench of Justices GS Patel and ND Sardessai said the number of cases before the NGT indicated that the people of Goa were aware that there was something of the value in their state. “Few are frivolous causes; in the past few weeks, we saw none. Many, and perhaps most, are of very serious concern, raising vital questions of both public law and environmental governance,” the bench said.

It said it was the duty of the government and the law to ensure forums, which will protect the environment, were close at hand so that environmental issues can be addressed quickly. No cause should be allowed to be lost for want of a court, the bench added.

Praising Goa, its people and its beauty, Justice Patel said: “Its greatest asset is one: its environment and its ecology – its rivers and riverbanks, its beaches, its lakes and clear streams, its dense forests, its low hills and fertile fields, its boulders and even trees shrouded with moss and vines and lichen in the rains, its ridiculously brilliant sunsets.”