RTI for Goa Forest Department — Bhagwan Mahavir WLS, Mollem NP, Mhadei WLS and Western Ghats Records

Goa's forests — though the state is small in geographic area — represent one of the most ecologically concentrated and legally contested landscapes in India. Approximately one-third of Goa falls within recorded forest land, most of it part of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, which is simultaneously a UNESCO World Heritage Serial Site and a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. The Goa Forest Department administers a network of five protected areas (four wildlife sanctuaries and one national park), manages forest land subject to compensatory afforestation obligations arising from decades of iron ore mining, implements the Forest Rights Act 2006 for the Gauda, Velip, and Dhangar tribal communities, and sits at the intersection of some of India's most prominent environmental litigation — including the Goa Foundation's Supreme Court challenge against railway and power infrastructure through Mollem National Park, and the long-running Mhadei river water dispute with Karnataka.

Every one of these functions generates official records — wildlife census data, management plans, clearance files, CAMPA utilisation statements, FRA field verification reports, encroachment action taken reports — to which citizens are entitled under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

This guide explains what information can be obtained from the Goa Forest Department, how to identify the correct CPIO, how to draft and file an effective RTI application, and how to pursue appeals — including, at the second appeal stage, through the Goa State Information Commission (Goa SIC).

Goa Forest Department: Governance and Structure

The Goa Forest Department operates under a compact vertical hierarchy. The apex officer is the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF), headquartered at Junta House, 18th June Road, Panaji — Goa – 403001. Below the PCCF sit Conservators of Forests (CFs) handling administrative and wildlife wings, and Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) at the operational field level.

Goa's forest administration is organised primarily around North Goa and South Goa divisions, with a separate Wildlife Division or Protected Area management structures for the key sanctuaries. The Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) — typically the PCCF or an officer of equivalent seniority — is the statutory authority under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and is the designated recommending authority before the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) for project clearances within protected areas.

For RTI purposes:

• For field-level records (encroachment ATRs in a specific division, wildlife incident records, FRA claim verification, local CAMPA works): file with the CPIO, DFO's office, of the relevant division (North Goa Forest Division, South Goa Forest Division, or the Wildlife Division as applicable).
• For protected area-specific records (Bhagwan Mahavir WLS/Mollem NP, Mhadei WLS, Cotigao WLS, Bondla WLS): file with the CPIO at the office of the DFO (Wildlife) or the Chief Wildlife Warden's office.
• For state-level aggregated data, CAMPA policy records, or high-level correspondence with MoEFCC and NBWL: file with the CPIO, PCCF's office, Junta House, Panaji.

If you are uncertain which DFO division holds the records you need, you may file with the PCCF's office. Under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, the PCCF's CPIO is required to transfer your application to the correct CPIO within five working days.

Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park

Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary — covering 240 square kilometres in Sanguem taluka of South Goa — is Goa's largest protected area and arguably its most ecologically significant. Within it sits Mollem National Park, a 107 sq km core zone that receives the highest level of statutory protection under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

The sanctuary and national park harbour some of the densest populations of gaur (Indian bison) in the Western Ghats — the large bovid that serves as a keystone herbivore for the forest ecosystem. Leopard, sambar, barking deer, Indian giant squirrel, Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar trogon, and Indian paradise flycatcher are among the forest's significant wildlife. The Dudhsagar Waterfalls — one of India's tallest, at approximately 310 metres — lie within the sanctuary and attract substantial tourist pressure, generating perennial management challenges including vehicular encroachment, jeep safari pollution, and trail erosion.

Bhagwan Mahavir WLS is ecologically contiguous to the east with Karnataka's Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve (also known as Anshi-Dandeli) and the broader Kali-Sharavathi-Netravathi-Bedthi river basin landscape. This cross-state corridor is a critical dispersal zone for tigers, leopards, and dholes moving between the Goa and Karnataka forest landscapes. The absence of a tiger reserve notification within Bhagwan Mahavir WLS/Mollem NP — despite the presence of leopard and prey species, and the connectivity with Karnataka's tiger reserves — has been a subject of periodic debate in conservation circles.

RTI applied to the DFO (Wildlife) or Chief Wildlife Warden's office can surface: wildlife census data and camera trap records; annual wildlife death summaries (mortality cause-wise); FIRs and prosecution status for poaching cases; tourist vehicle permit records and compliance with the tourism regulation framework; and internal records on the department's management plan for the current management cycle.

Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary: Corridor, Tiger Proposal, and River Dispute

Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (208 sq km) in the Sattari taluka of North Goa is a landscape of critical ecological importance that receives far less public attention than Bhagwan Mahavir WLS despite its conservation significance. The sanctuary sits at the headwaters of the Mhadei river — known as the Mandovi through Goa and into the Arabian Sea — and is characterised by moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forest with significant leopard, gaur, sambar, barking deer, and Indian giant squirrel populations.

Mhadei as Tiger-Leopard Corridor

Mhadei WLS shares a forest boundary with Karnataka's Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve and, through it, with the larger Bhagwan Mahavir WLS-Dandeli-Anshi landscape. This makes the Mhadei landscape a critical east-west corridor for large carnivores. Camera trap studies by wildlife researchers have documented tiger presence in Mhadei WLS, supporting the ecological basis for a potential tiger reserve notification. Goa's government has at various times discussed proposing the Mhadei landscape for Project Tiger status, but no formal proposal had been submitted to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as of 2025. RTI to the PCCF's office can establish whether a formal proposal exists, its current stage, and NTCA's response.

The Kalasa-Banduri (Mhadei) Diversion and Wildlife Impact

The Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal — constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 — has been adjudicating Karnataka's request to divert Mhadei waters eastward for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala Diversion Project to supplement drinking water supply to Hubli-Dharwad and other North Karnataka cities. Goa has consistently opposed the diversion, arguing it would reduce river flow through Mhadei WLS and damage the riparian forest ecosystem that sustains the wildlife corridor.

From a forest department perspective, any diversion project that involves forest land within Mhadei WLS would require both a forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and a wildlife clearance from the NBWL. RTI to the Goa Forest Department can establish whether any such clearance application has been received, whether the Chief Wildlife Warden has made any recommendation to the NBWL or MoEFCC, and what the Forest Department's own technical assessment of wildlife impact is.

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary: Southern Goa's Drier Forest

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (86 sq km) in Canacona taluka in southern Goa bordering Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district protects a drier forest type — moist and dry mixed deciduous forest — and is home to the slender loris (a nocturnal primate and Schedule I species), gaur, leopard, sambar, barking deer, and a rich avifauna. Cotigao is less visited than Bhagwan Mahavir/Mollem and receives less media attention, which can make Forest Department record-keeping there less subject to public scrutiny — making RTI particularly useful for obtaining encroachment ATRs, wildlife crime records, and management plan status.

Western Ghats UNESCO World Heritage Status: What RTI Can Establish

The Western Ghats were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Serial Site in 2012, under the category of Outstanding Universal Value for biodiversity. The site comprises 39 discrete component properties spread across six states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat — covering approximately 7,95,315 hectares, with an additional buffer zone area. Goa's contribution to the UNESCO cluster includes portions of Bhagwan Mahavir WLS/Mollem NP and Mhadei WLS.

UNESCO World Heritage status is not equivalent to a domestic Protected Area notification — the primary management obligation remains with the state government's Forest Department under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. However, UNESCO's designation creates international reporting obligations (annual State of Conservation reports to the World Heritage Committee) and creates a normative baseline against which development projects within or adjacent to the component properties are evaluated.

The Gadgil Committee report (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, 2011) and the subsequent Kasturirangan Committee report (High Level Working Group, 2013) both classified portions of the Western Ghats — including Goa — as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) at varying levels. The Kasturirangan report designated certain areas as ESA Level 1 (most sensitive, where new mining, quarrying, and large construction are prohibited). Goa's response to these recommendations has been contested, and the state has resisted full implementation of the Kasturirangan ESA notification for years.

RTI to the Goa Forest Department can establish:

• The Forest Department's records on which villages and forest patches in Goa fall within the ESA Level 1 boundary per the draft notification issued by MoEFCC
• Whether the Goa government has submitted any representation objecting to the inclusion of specific areas
• The current status of any final ESZ (Eco-Sensitive Zone) notification under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for the protected areas in Goa's Western Ghats cluster
• Development proposals reviewed by the Eco-Sensitive Zone Monitoring Committee (if constituted for Goa's protected areas)

Goa Foundation Litigation: Railway and Power Line Through Mollem

The Goa Foundation — one of India's most effective environmental legal organisations, with a history stretching back to the landmark 1994 and 2001 mining cases before the Supreme Court — filed a series of petitions challenging three infrastructure projects that were proposed to pass through or alongside Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park:

1. Railway doubling: The South Western Railway's proposal to double the existing single-track Kulem–Castle Rock railway line that passes through the sanctuary, requiring tree felling within the protected area.
2. 400 kV power transmission line: A high-voltage power line proposed to be routed through the sanctuary, requiring clearing of a corridor through forest land.
3. National Highway widening: The widening of highway infrastructure along the sanctuary's southern boundary.

These projects collectively attracted the largest sustained conservation campaign in Goa's history — the Save Mollem movement — and generated sustained judicial engagement. The matter involved both the National Green Tribunal and ultimately the Supreme Court of India. Central to the legal issue was whether adequate wildlife clearances from the NBWL had been obtained, and whether the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, had been complied with for forest diversion within the protected area.

RTI filed with the Goa Forest Department — specifically the Chief Wildlife Warden's office — can obtain:

• The Chief Wildlife Warden's recommendation to the NBWL Standing Committee for any of these projects (the CWW's recommendation is a mandatory statutory step before the Standing Committee can consider granting wildlife clearance)
• The Forest Department's internal assessment of wildlife impact (cumulative and individual project impact)
• Copies of any conditions imposed in environmental or forest clearances granted, and the compliance monitoring record
• Correspondence between the Goa Forest Department and MoEFCC, the railway ministry, the power ministry, and the NHAI regarding these projects

These records are not routinely published and are accessible primarily via RTI. They are significant not only for advocacy purposes but also for understanding how state forest departments engage with the NBWL clearance process in practice.

Iron Ore Mining Legacy: Forests, Clearances, and CAMPA

Goa's former iron ore mining industry — once the backbone of the state's export economy — was the subject of two major Supreme Court-mandated suspensions: in 2012, following the Justice Shah Commission's findings on illegal mining and forest violations, and again in 2018, after the Court found that all 88 iron ore leases in Goa had been renewed unlawfully. A partial resumption of mining under fresh leases has occurred since 2020, but the legacy of forest land diversion for mining — compensatory afforestation obligations, reclamation of mined forest land, and CAMPA fund utilisation — remains a live and significant issue.

For every hectare of forest diverted for mining under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the mining leaseholder was required to contribute funds to CAMPA for compensatory afforestation of equivalent area (or double the area, for non-forest land). Goa's State CAMPA Authority administers these funds, which flow to the Goa Forest Department for plantation and protection works.

RTI to the Goa Forest Department can establish:

• The total forest area diverted for mining in Goa under FCA 1980 clearances (by year and by leaseholder)
• The compensatory afforestation obligations created against each diversion
• The area where compensatory afforestation has been completed, and the survival audit outcome
• The total CAMPA funds received and utilised in Goa
• The Annual Plan of Operations (APO) approved for each financial year and the works executed

Plantation survival audit records are particularly valuable: they reveal whether compensatory afforestation plantations are genuinely surviving and establishing as functional forest (typically requiring 65-70% survival after three years) or are merely paper plantations with little ecological value. Goa's compact geography and relatively well-recorded forest estate make CAMPA audit discrepancies — where the planted area on paper significantly exceeds the area where survival can be verified in the field — a productive area for RTI inquiry.

Forest Rights Act 2006 and Goa's Tribal Communities

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA 2006) recognises the rights of forest-dwelling communities who have been cultivating or residing in forest land before 13 December 2005. Goa's forest-dwelling tribal communities include the Gauda (Gavda) — the largest Scheduled Tribe in Goa, primarily settled in the forested interior talukas of Sanguem, Sattari, Quepem, and Canacona; the Velip — a community in the southern forest talukas with deep traditional ties to forest produce collection and cultivation; and the Dhangar — a pastoral community with traditional grazing practices in forest areas.

FRA implementation in Goa has been uneven. Individual Forest Rights (IFR) claims have been processed in many talukas, but Community Forest Rights (CFR) claims — which give communities the right to manage and protect a community forest resource area — have seen slower progress. Within and adjacent to protected areas (Bhagwan Mahavir WLS, Cotigao WLS, Mhadei WLS), the Forest Department's role in the FRA process is particularly sensitive, because the department is both a statutory consultee in the claim process and an interested party with its own institutional incentives to retain forest land under its exclusive control.

Under FRA 2006, the Forest Department must submit a field verification report to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) for each claim referred to it. If the Forest Department objects to a claim, that objection must be in writing, cite the specific legal provision, and be placed before the SDLC or DLC for the claimant to respond to. Informal verbal objections or simple non-cooperation with the verification process is not a lawful basis to stall a claim.

RTI to the DFO's office (for the relevant division/taluka) is the primary tool for FRA claimants who find their claims stalled. RTI can surface:

• The field verification report for a specific claim number, and the date it was forwarded to the SDLC
• Whether any written objection was filed and the specific grounds cited
• District-level FRA claim statistics showing the number of claims pending field verification with the Forest Department
• Records of any DLC or SDLC meetings at which the Forest Department was represented

How to Identify the Correct CPIO

The Goa Forest Department's CPIOs are designated at each office level. Identifying the correct CPIO matters because an incorrectly addressed RTI will be delayed (transferred under Section 6(3)) or, worse, rejected:

• For encroachment ATRs, FRA verification records, wildlife crime cases, and routine division-level records: file with the CPIO, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), North Goa / South Goa Forest Division.
• For Bhagwan Mahavir WLS/Mollem NP, Mhadei WLS, Cotigao WLS, or Bondla WLS wildlife and management records: file with the CPIO, DFO (Wildlife) / Chief Wildlife Warden's office, Goa.
• For infrastructure project clearance files (railway, power line), NBWL correspondence, and ESZ records: file with the CPIO, Chief Wildlife Warden's office (for wildlife clearance files) and/or the CPIO, PCCF's office (for Forest Conservation Act clearance recommendations).
• For state-level CAMPA fund utilisation, APO records, and aggregated statewide data: file with the CPIO, PCCF's office, Junta House, Panaji.

How to File RTI with the Goa Forest Department

Step 1: Draft Your Application

Use the sample RTI above as a starting template. Be precise about the specific protected area, forest division, taluka, and financial year period for which you seek records. Separate each information request into a numbered point — vague or bundled requests are more easily returned with incomplete responses. For CAMPA queries, specify the financial year range. For FRA queries, include the claim number and claimant's name where applicable. For infrastructure clearance queries, identify the specific project by its MoEFCC file number or common name.

Step 2: File Online or by Post

Goa state public authorities — including all offices of the Goa Forest Department — can be accessed through the central RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in, which accepts online payment of the ₹10 fee via debit card, credit card, or internet banking. You may also submit a physical application by registered post addressed to the CPIO at the relevant DFO's office or the PCCF's office. BPL cardholders are exempt from the ₹10 fee; attach a certified copy of your BPL card.

Note: The rtionline.gov.in portal covers both Central Government bodies and state government bodies that have opted into the portal. Verify that the specific Goa Forest Department office you are targeting is listed on the portal; if not, use postal filing.

Step 3: Track the Timeline

Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, the CPIO must respond within 30 days of receipt. If your information concerns the life or liberty of a person — for example, in cases involving forest-dwelling families whose shelter or livelihood depends on prompt FRA claim resolution — the response is due within 48 hours under the Section 7(1) proviso. Keep your acknowledgement slip or online acknowledgement number carefully.

Step 4: First and Second Appeals

If the Goa Forest Department does not respond within 30 days, or provides an incomplete or inadequately reasoned response:

• First Appeal under Section 19(1): File with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) designated within the Goa Forest Department — typically the Conservator of Forests (CF) for DFO-level RTIs, or a senior officer designated by the PCCF for headquarters-level RTIs. File within 30 days of the date of the decision or the expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is required. Attach the original RTI application and the CPIO's response (if any).
• Second Appeal under Section 19(3): If the FAA's response is absent or unsatisfactory, file with the Goa State Information Commission (Goa SIC) within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the expiry of the FAA's response period. No fee is payable. Under Section 20 of the RTI Act, the Goa SIC can impose a penalty of ₹250 per day (maximum ₹25,000) on the CPIO personally, and may also recommend disciplinary proceedings against the erring officer.

Jurisdictional Note: Goa SIC — Not CIC

The Goa Forest Department is entirely a state public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. This means:

• All First Appeals go to the FAA within the Goa Forest Department.
• All Second Appeals go to the Goa State Information Commission (Goa SIC) — constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act as Goa's State Information Commission.
• The Central Information Commission (CIC) has no jurisdiction over the Goa Forest Department or any of its field offices.

A source of confusion is the overlap between Central Government bodies (NTCA, NBWL, MoEFCC, Ministry of Railways) that make decisions affecting Goa's forests, and the state-level Goa Forest Department that implements those decisions on the ground. RTI to NTCA or MoEFCC goes to a Central authority, with second appeal to the CIC. RTI to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Goa, or the PCCF, Goa, goes to a state authority, with second appeal to the Goa SIC. Never conflate the two, and always direct your second appeal to the correct commission.

Practical Tips for Effective Forest RTI in Goa

• Request camera trap station maps and survey effort data for wildlife census queries. A wildlife census report without the underlying survey effort data (number of camera trap nights, grid cells covered) cannot be independently evaluated. Asking for the survey effort data alongside the population estimate forces a more complete disclosure.
• For FRA claims, ask for both the field verification report and the forwarding note. The forwarding note (the official letter with which the DFO's office sent the field verification report to the SDLC) is as important as the verification report itself — it establishes the date of forwarding, enabling calculation of delay at each tier.
• For CAMPA plantation survival audits, ask for GPS-mapped plantation boundaries. Asking for the survival audit percentage alone is insufficient. Request the GPS-mapped boundaries of the plantation site and the survival audit finding — cross-referencing these with satellite imagery from public sources will reveal whether the plantation area on paper matches the area where vegetation is actually present on the ground.
• For infrastructure clearance files, request the Chief Wildlife Warden's recommendation letter. The CWW's recommendation to the NBWL Standing Committee is the key document in the wildlife clearance process. It contains the CWW's own assessment of project impact on wildlife, and its terms often reveal whether the clearance recommendation was genuinely protective of wildlife or was made without adequate field assessment.
• For Mhadei river-related records, file RTI both with the Goa Forest Department (for wildlife and forest impact assessments) and with the Goa Water Resources Department (for the state's own technical representations to the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal) — the two sets of records will together give a fuller picture of the state's position on the diversion project.
• If the CPIO cites Section 8(1)(e) (information held in fiduciary capacity) to withhold forest clearance files, reject this claim firmly in your First Appeal. Forest clearance recommendations and wildlife clearance correspondence between state departments and MoEFCC/NBWL are not held in any fiduciary relationship — they are official governmental records made in discharge of public statutory duties.