VASCO: National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) general secretary Olencio Simoes slammed the North and South Collectors’ notices dated March 3, which curtail the voices of the marginalised fishing community of Goa for which the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) was mooted to protect their livelihood but rather looking into the discrepancies in the draft CZMP plan 2021.
In a press statement issued by the collector, he reduces the participants to mere 150, which is in violation of public consultation guidelines laid down in the EIA notification 2006 as the fishing community is a plausible stakeholder, who are directly affected by the wrong doing of the CZMP.
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Olencio stated none of the CZMPs across 8 coastal States has shown port limits in water area and land area but in Goa the entire sea, rivers, water bodies and even land upto 100mts of HTL is shown as port limits which is shocking as even in the previous draft CZMP 2019 had not shown port limits and aquaculture in the plan.
He stated that the fishermen’s association had demanded that the public hearing be conducted at multiple locations, at taluka levels, on different dates, so that maximum fishermen communities’ representatives can attend and submit their objections so that justice is met to each and every individual but on contrary, the speakers have been asked to speak for only 5 minutes.
Agnelo Rodrigues, President of Goenchea Raponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) has slammed the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and demanded the resignation Dasharath M Redkar, Member Secretary for failing to discharge his duty, who has once again violated the guidelines to prepare the CRZ notification 2011.
Rodrigues said he was shocked to note that instead of marking fishing zones and fish breeding areas upto 12 nautical miles as per the CRZ notification 2011, the GCZMA has marked or demarcated non-related items like port limits and aquaculture which is in contravention of the CRZ notification.
“It looks like the GCZMA has a hidden agenda and is in connivance with the Mormugao Port Trust’s Sagarmala plan and is all out to destroy the fishing community as they have been issuing demolition notices to the fishing community rather protecting them, which is clearly mentioned in the CRZ notification 2011,” he alleged.
NFF and GRE have appealed to all 36 fishermen associations across Goa to attend the public hearing in large numbers and demanded scrapping the restriction on public hearing. They demanded that the public hearing be postponed till the errors are rectified.
