Carries out inspection, calls for status quo until biodiversity of area is documented
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The battle to save the low-lying field opposite the Colva Church from being filled up to build a playground has taken an interesting turn with the Goa State Biodiversity Board asserting that no decision to reclaim the area should be taken at any level until such time the biodiversity of the area is documented across seasons.
A site inspection carried out by the Board along with other government agencies revealed that the field was a water-logged marshy land with some elements of fresh water biota. “The extant vegetation indicates good water holding/saturation capacity of the soil”, Biodiversity Board Member Secretary Dr Nitin Sawant stated in his report.
Saying that the proposed area is a low-lying place, Sawant said that reclamation or filling of the plot could interfere with hydro-dynamics and also result in habitat loss for certain secondary biodiversity, both flora and fauna, details of which are not available due to lack of documentation.
“Appropriate landscaping and planning must be envisaged in addition to the need to protect biodiversity of the area. A seasonal inventory of flora and fauna of this site must be carried out before any decision at reclamation is arrived at,” stated the report.
The GSBB implies that the government agencies, including the panchayat, will not be able to reclaim the area unless documentation of the biodiversity of the place across seasons is put in place, giving a boost to the local Church and activists alike battling against the proposed playground.
Commenting on the GSBB report, activist Judith Almeida, who had called for a detailed report on the field, said the report should come as an eye opener to the authorities to work in tandem and not in isolation. “The report is significant not just for Colva, but Goa as a whole since low-lying agricultural fields are sought to be buried for construction without any study. Agencies such as the hydro-geology should have done a detailed study on the impact of land filling of the field on the flora and fauna”, she said, adding that the government agencies should learn a lesson from the Canacona building collapse case.
