PANJIM: Congress has demanded that the public hearing on the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) scheduled for July 7 be deferred until all the villages in the State are able to submit their suggestions and objections.
Condemning the process of preparing the CZMP, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) spokesperson Tulio De Souza said the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), the central government agency that drafted the plan did not carry out any new surveys and superimposed google map images on the 1974 survey records.
He said, “Government has prepared the plan as a procedural formality as necessitated by the CRZ notification and mandated by NGT. A cursory look into the map reveals that massive new constructions have not been taken into consideration. The government needs to adopt a proper strategy when a document is going to affect the livelihood of the people. If it is only for the motion of the process then the government has failed in its duty as mandated under the amended notification.”
He further said that under the Centre’s Sagarmala project, the government is supposed to construct nine jetties but in the maps not a single one has been marked. “EIA has been completed according to the government but it’s not mentioned in the plans. Government has to redo the maps with the participation of the people. Congress will extend its support to people or NGOs protesting against the plans,” he added.
Academician turned environmentalist Dr Joe D’Souza said the government has not done any scientific work and this is worrisome as the high tide areas have not been calculated scientifically. He said, “The map has been prepared haphazardly without any yardstick, therefore some things are represented and some things in the same line have not been shown.”
GPCC spokesperson Swati Kerkar said the government has created ambiguity by showing certain structures and not informing people what has been included. She demanded, “The hearing has to be deferred as doubts of the people are not cleared. The way the Regional Plan draft was sent to all villages and then a final draft was submitted a similar process should be undertaken.”
She added, “The plans are for the people’s protection and not to facilitate the real estate lobby. Therefore, the government should not only defer the hearing but also have first hand information about the plans before the hearing.”
