Team Herald
PANJIM: Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday said that the government will demand removal of 99 villages of Goa from Centre’s draft notification of the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) in the Western Ghats.
Opposing the eco-sensitive zones in villages, Rane said, “We don’t want the notification. We should be removed from the notification.”
He said that he had already spoken to Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupendra Yadav and the Director General of Forests C P Goyal in this regard. “I have also discussed this matter with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and will send a formal email routed through the Chief Minister to the Union Minister,” he said adding that he will also send a letter to the Union Minister.
The minister also pointed out that neighbouring Karnataka had also raised objections to the draft notification and reiterated his demand to exclude 99 villages of the State from the draft notification. The people residing in these villagers are restless by the draft notification.
