TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday dismissed Goa Foundation’s review petition seeking an additional six months to finalise the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The Green bench had earlier directed the State to complete the entire process by August 31.
Goa Foundation had moved NGT with a review petition seeking deletion of the time limit of August 31 for preparation of the CZMPs for Goa – and for giving GCZMA six months after the public hearings are concluded to consider and incorporate all suggestion as per law. It had also pleaded to set aside time limit of 15 minutes imposed on participants at the public hearing.
The petitioner Claude Alvares said that the NGT has dismissed the review petition.
As such, the public hearing on the draft CZMP will be held as scheduled on July 8 at Campal parade ground in North Goa and SGPDA ground in South. Over 700 people have registered to attend the hearing.
In its review petition, the petitioner pleaded that the deadline imposed by the Tribunal is far less than the time of six months allowed by law for the finalisation of the CZMP after a public hearing has taken place.
It said that as per the deadline imposed by the Tribunal, the State government would have barely a month after the public hearing to examine and consider over 5000 comments, suggestions and objections, send the CZMPS back to the National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in Chennai for the necessary corrections in the CZMP maps and then appraise and finalise before its transmission to Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
“The draft CZMP prepared by the NCSCM has too many glaring errors. It is pertinent that these errors are corrected at this stage. Besides the 5000+ objections and suggestions already received by the authorities, more will be forthcoming in the month prior to the hearings themselves,” GF said.
The petitioner pointed out that the finalisation of the CZMP cannot be treated lightly and must be carried out with utmost sincerity, and diligence, and with due regard for the concerns of those that would be affected.
GF alleged that the pressure on the authorities to complete the exercise by end August, 2021 is resulting in arbitrary and unfair time restriction of 15 minutes only being imposed on the citizens at the public hearing.
“It is simply not possible for any person raising issues or objections to the draft CZMP maps or even asking a query to complete one’s submissions within 15 minutes. People who come to the hearing would have travelled a long way and would naturally wish to be given adequate time to express their views,” GF said.
The applicant noted that organisations and individuals, including scientists and experts, who wish to make presentations for entire areas, or on subjects of their expertise and those participating as representatives of severely affected communities spread over different areas, would not be able to make any meaningful presentations in 15 minutes.
There are 254 maps in the all Goa CZMP, village-wise in 4,000 scale. Even commenting on a few of them would require much more than 15 minutes.
“There has never been a public hearing in Goa where such time limit has been imposed on the public to present their views. Besides, the authorities are nowhere empowered to set a limit for speakers during the public hearing,” GF said.
