The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday temporarily barred a casino vessel from sailing into the Mandovi River towards the Panaji Port after mounting opposition to its transit through the ecologically fragile area.
The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit S. Jamsandekar, in an interim order directed that the MV Deltin Royale would not be allowed to replace the MV Royale Flotel at the port until it met two conditions.
Firstly, the new casino vessel will have to obtain all the "required certifications" for sailing into the river, and secondly, even if it does meet these requirements, it would still need the express permission of the Bombay High Court to finally enter the river, as per an Indian Express report.
The court's ruling on the MV Deltin Royale—which is currently berthed at the Mormugao Port—comes after widespread opposition to the massive casino ship entering the Mandovi River due to not just ecological concerns, but also its perceived impact on the livelihoods of fisherfolk along the river.
Indeed, the new vessel is 112m long and 28m wide, and can carry upto 2,000 passengers, as compared to the MV Royale Flotel, which is much smaller, older, and can only carry a maximum of 70 passengers.
The court had been responding to a writ petition filed by Goan freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardesai, writer Uday Bhembre, and social activists Sudeep Tamankar and Harish Madkaikar—who united under the banner of the 'Enough Is Enough' movement.
The petitioners have alleged that the capacity of the new vessel was more than the combined capacity of all the six off-shore casino vessels currently moored in the Mandovi River.
They also pointed out that despite the Secretary (Ports) flagging the entry of new vessels as a navigational risk in 2021, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) had been granted to bring in the new vessel.
It has also been alleged that the old vessel's licence cannot be transferred to the new one, as licenses are specific to passenger capacity as per provisions of the Goa Gambling Act.
The bench also told the petitioners that the state government had agreed to consult the court if it was planning to issue a fresh licence to the MV Deltin Royale.
The case will next be heard on July 6.
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