Team Herald
MARGAO: In response to the objections they have received pertaining to the draft notification to declare Curtorim as a Biodiversity Heritage Site, the grievance committee of the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) has scheduled a meeting on October 21, to deliberate on the issue.
The people of Curtorim, especially farmers and heritage lovers, have been waiting a long time to see their village declared as Goa's first Biodiversity Heritage Site.
The Curtorim Panchayat and members of the Curtorim Biodiversity Committee have urged the GSBB to include all the springs and khazan land in the draft, as per the initial proposal, and issue a corrigendum to rectify the notified plan. Presently, only around six lakh square meters of area, mostly lakes and field channels, are included in the biodiversity heritage site, as against 60 lakh sq mts as suggested by experts.
A draft notification was published in the official gazette in May, requesting suggestions and objections with regard to declaring the agrarian village a Biodiversity Heritage Site.
Pradip Sarmokadam, Member Secretary of GSBB, said in a notice that the Board received two grievances during the objection period.
Several springs in Curtorim hold heritage importance, and the heritage status will help preserve the ecology of Curtorim.