Environment Min yet to get letter from Goa on ghats report

The Environment Ministry today said it is yet to receive any letter from the Goa government on the controversial Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats and will "look at it" once it comes.
"I have not received any letter from Goa government. We have written several letters to the Goa government...We have been waiting for a response for six months...If they have sent a response now or recently, we will take a look at it, Natarajan told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
Goa Forest Minister Alina Saldanha had reportedly written a letter to Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, saying the data given by the Kasturirangan panel was not authentic and did not reflect the ground realities in the Western Ghats range located within Goa's borders.

Kasturirangan headed a high-level working group to advise the central government on the recommendations made by the Madhav Gadgil-led experts panel on conservation in the Western Ghats.
The Goa forest minister has reportedly said the MoEF is pushing the Kasturirangan committee report findings despite strong reservations by the latter.
The forest minister has also accused the working group of not consulting the state government before submitting its recommendations about the Goa region of the Ghats to the ministry.

Asked about the state of several projects which are hanging in limbo like Vedanta, Natarajan said the project was not stuck at all and was in the Supreme Court.

"It's in the Supreme Court and it has given a verdict.. they passed an order and we have to review the order and thereafter issue.." she said.
"They have clearly said the local gram sabhas have to decide...Once we recieved the report what gram sabhas have said, we will take a view..," Natarajan said.