TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
Team Herald
MARGAO: Supporting all those who have opposed the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao on Saturday fully backed the seven panchayats in his constituency in their resolutions against the draft plan which exposed several anomalies.
Churchill said the panchayats from Cavelossim, Carmona, Orlim, Varca, Benaulim, Colva and Seraulim have in one voice voiced their anger at the proposal which affects their future.
"It is the panchayats that understand better the relation between the people and its land. It is the village panchayats that understand Goa's riverine ecosystem better than a group sitting in Chennai," Churchill said.
"The unique, age-old relationship between the people and the land is fully understood by the people and as such the plan cannot be trusted on the villagers arbitrarily in just 30 days, ignoring the hundreds of blunders in the plans which have been identified by the locals. The plan was to be put in 2013 but it dragged on for eight years now albeit with ulterior motives," he added.
"There are villages missing from the draft plan. Sand dunes and fish mending areas have not been mentioned and the fishing wards marked in some cases are beyond 500 metres from the coast. How can a fisherman drag his boat far beyond 500 metres in the water each day? Fishermen live in the water and not 500 metres away. These mistakes are a reflection that the ground realities and the way of life of rural Goans have been totally ignored. It is shocking that these mistakes have now been dumped onto the people," he charged.
"People did not get these plans on time. Copies of the draft have reached in the last days of February, thus giving no time for an appropriate response. The plans were not explained to the villagers. Fishermen, agricultural bodies, comunidades, khazan land groups were not taken into confidence. And worse now, people will get just five minutes to raise objections and genuine concerns. This is not people's participation. People need to know the eight-year delay. And now, we come with an anti-people plan which my panchayats have realised has to be fought tooth and nail. The faulty plan has to be scrapped as 60 days need to be given for the receipt of suggestions and objections. I salute all my panchayats for not falling in line as it affects their very future of existence. These are very genuine and serious protests as Goa's future is at stake," he said.
"If the proposed draft is implemented then villagers, panchayats will lose control over the village land and rivers. There are several mistakes in the draft and what people are asking are rectifications that are genuine. The river banks are not properties of any port but they belong to local communities, fishermen since times gone by. The entire riverbank needs to be demarcated as a fishing village and the Port Limit needs to be removed. The khazan land and dry fields are owned by the villagers. The hazard line has been marked arbitrarily and needs to be rectified in consultation with the villagers and the panchayats," he demanded.
