SHWETA KAMT
shweta@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In what could spell doom to the iron ore mining sector in Goa, the State government has identified 69 villages as eco-sensitive areas (ESA) along the Western Ghats region. Fresh mining activities are prohibited in ESAs, while the existing ones have to be phased out within five years from the date the villages are notified.
The government in a fresh proposal moved to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) has identified 69 villages as ESA, which include 31 villages in and around the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) (Sattari), 16 along Netravali WLS (Quepem), 15 along Bhagwan Mahavir WLS (Dharbandora), five along Bondla WLS (Ponda) and two in Cotigao WLS (Canacona).
The government had earlier identified only 19 villages as ESA as against the 97 villages identified by the High Level Working Group of MoEF headed by Dr Kasturirangan Committee. “MoEF had rejected the State proposal and had directed it to submit a fresh one,” sources revealed.
The High Level Working Group in its report submitted in 2014 had divided Goa’s Western Ghat region into three talukas identifying 97 villages – Sattari (56), Sanguem (38) and Canacona (3). Sources revealed that MoEF in 2015 through a notification, superseding the notification issued on March 10, 2014, had clarified that there would be no displacement or dislocation of the people living within the demarcated villages in the Western Ghats and agriculture and plantation activity would not be affected.
As per the existing CRZ notification no development of any nature is permissible within 200 mts of the HLT from the coastal side and 100 mts from riverine land. Besides this, as per the Indian Forest Act, the Forest Department has also notified lands as reserve forest, protected area and private forest by way of which 33 per cent of the total land of Goa cannot be used for any other purpose but only for forest activities.
