PANJIM, March 19 -- Team Herald

The battle to save Goa's precious lands from the claws of the land-grabbers got a huge boost on Wednesday when former Environment Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hailed the Supreme Court directive halting the conversion of Goa's private forest land and said bigger battles lie ahead given the 'single-minded focus' of the Goa Chief Minister to free up forest lands for real estate purposes.

His sharp criticism comes close on the heels of the March 3 Supreme Court order he referenced in his post on X. On that day, the Apex Court 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...