PANJIM, March 3 -- Team Herald

The Supreme Court has acted again as the protector of Goa's beleaguered forests under attack from the land mafia and mining lobby, as it passed an order granting interim relief against the conversion of large tracts identified as forest land by two expert committees.

"We know how forests are being destroyed in Goa," observed the bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Monday, while passing its order on the land that is spread across 855 survey numbers.

This is the second time in less than a month that the Apex Court has stood as a guard for Goa's forests. On February 6, Supreme Court Justice Satish Chandra Sharma had remarked, "Please don't turn Goa into a concrete jungle," dismis...