Team Herald
PANJIM: Goans Against CRZ 2018 (GACRZ) on Friday slammed Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who holds the environment portfolio, for being an anti environment Minister claiming he has failed to protect the environment.
GACRZ held a peaceful protest at Miramar beach demanding scrapping of the draft CRZ 2018 notification claiming the notification has itself violated the fundamental principle of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in which the Coastal Regulation Zone(CRZ) was enacted in February 19, 1991.
GACRZ member Olencio Simoes addressing the gathering during the protest, said, “After 27 years the government thought of violating its own acts and laws to bring in a new draft CRZ 2018 which will reduce CRZ from 500mts to a mere 50mts, which is clearly anti-people, anti-environment and anti-fishermen. The Coastal Regulation Zone 1991 and 2011 had given special privilege to Goa, as Goa has only 105km of coastline and hardly 300km of river line, as our coastline and river line is very ecologically fragile.”
GACRZ said that the draft CRZ notification 2018 has created confusion in people’s mind, as CRZ 2018 has diluted and added CRZ-III A and CRZ-III B as it states that if the population density is more than 2161 per sq km it shall be designated as CRZ-III A and the No Development Zone (NDZ) of 50mts will be in force and if the population density is less than 2161 per sq km then it will designated as CRZ-III B and NDZ will be of 200 mts.
“This is clear eye wash and the government is desperately trying to impose this draft CRZ 2018 to please certain sections of society but the ground reality is that more than 100 villages, especially coastal villages where the population density is more than 2161 per sq km, will fall in CRZ-IIIA, “ GACRZ said..
GACRZ has demanded that the limit of 200 mtrs and 100 mtrs NDZ and 50 mtrs CRZ he retained and objected to the proposal to reduce it to 50 mtrs and 30 mtrs.
“Convert CRZ 2011 notification into Coastal Regulation Zone Act (CRZ Act), withdraw all three amendments to CRZ Notification 2001 done through SO 3197 (E) dated July 2, 2018. Complete the coastal zone management plans (CZMPs) as per NGT order and implement CRZ notification 2011 in toto,” GACRZ demanded.
