Team Herald
PORVORIM: Expressing complete displeasure towards the growing public ire against the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), which the government has declared has been scrapped, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said the government will be in no position to grant permission to shacks or other development projects in the coastal belt until the plan is finalised.
Sawant, who sounded furious over the manner in which Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral has been abused by the public, told the House that Goa is the only State in the country who has not submitted the CZMP to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).
“I don’t understand why people are protesting or targeting the Minister, when, on the floor of the House itself, the Minister has declared that the draft plan has been scrapped,” the Chief Minister said.
“Goa is the only State which not submitted the CZMP to the autonomous body set up by the Center. Because of this, several government and private projects are pending. Being a tourism State, Goa needs development in the coastal belt,” he said.
“If we don’t submit the CZMP and get it approved, we will not even able to give permissions to beach shacks in the coming season. Then, the same people will hold the government responsible,” Sawant added.
The Chief Minister asserted that government cannot just bow down to public protests, when what is being done is necessary for development. “People are used to opposing every time some development comes up,” he said.
Sawant said that he has asked Cabral to order Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to make whatever corrections are to be made to the CZMP and submit it to the Ministry as soon as possible for approval.
