ORLIM: The former Orlim sarpanch and present panch member, Gaudencio Luis recently filed a complaint in the Orlim village panchayat against the ‘sand mining’ taking place in the coastal village.
Luis argued that an application for desilting of River Sal that was supported by the Orlim village panchayat in 2019 but in 2020 environmentalists created awareness on this subject.
“The draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2021 makes this connection very clear since the Port limits were shown in Orlim. The present damage done to the river banks and the mangroves is definitely not a part of the desilting and seems a planned execution of a major project to come in future,” said Luis.
Luis further demanded that the government should inform the Orlim villagers if the truckers transporting the sand have been issued permissions or a license to do so.
In 2020, Luis had opposed the desilting when intimation was sent to the panchayat by the contracting agency, following getting a hint of Sagarmala connection to Orlim village through an awareness program conducted by environmentalist
Social activists Kim Miranda, who is also the Orlim CZMP committee member, further alleged that there no environment clearances (ECs) have been obtained by the government to execute the dredging, after reviewing the site with architect Royla Fernandes to check the river banks in question.
Miranda flayed the ‘total destruction of the Orlim village habitat such as the mangroves, trees, river dredging sans supervision or any scientific background to undertake the task.’
Miranda alleged that ‘the River Sal was being dredged beyond the stipulated three metres and was being widened dumping sand onto the river banks and trees being destroyed’. “Corals are being dug out and dumped onto the river banks. This is not needed. Sadly, the person who heads the committee is the person who heads the Biodiversity Board and the panchayat along with these two committees is doing nothing about it. Only one side of the river is being dug, so called desilting. It is being done only on the Orlim side not Chinchinim side as apparently, the Chinchinim villagers have refused it. What kind of logic is this? I fail to understand,” exclaimed Kim.
Architect Royla Fernandes pointed revealed she had witnessed the destruction of mangroves in Orlim and claimed that it has eventually taken a toll on the fish breeding grounds.
“Why are the mangroves being destroyed? Is it in the scope of work given by the Captain of Ports to the contractor? Was it really needed? If needed, why? We know that the Coastal Zone Management rules are in place wherein the protection of mangroves is important and government is destroying it. We know that there is a bigger plan in the destruction of these mangroves. It is linked to the Sagarmala and it is evident by the CZMP showing the Port limits in its draft plan. The villagers have objected to it. The mangroves are essential because they are the fish breeding grounds. What we require from the government is to stop this destruction of the mangroves. We request the department that is executing this work to visit the site and inspect, do an assessment of the agency that is employed to do this and restore the mangroves to its original status,” said Royla.
A copy of the complaint letters has also been sent to the government authorities such as the GSBB, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), Director of Mines and the South Goa Collector.
