PANJIM: On the last day for the public to send in objections to the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), various groups thronged the office of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).
The common issue was that the draft plan is replete with errors, which they have pointed out in writing and that more time has to be given to rectify the errors.
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The groups also criticised the manner in which the recent public hearings in North and South Goa were held, pointing out several flaws and demanding that more hearings be held. They also demanded that the concluded hearings be declared null and void given the procedural errors involved. There were calls for the authorities to send dedicated officials to each village to assess the ground reality and for the plans to be made available in the local language, as mandated by law.
Some of these groups included Goenche Ramponkar Ekvott, Goencho Ekvott, Goencho Avaaz, Citizens for Coastal Communities and Shack Owners Welfare Society.
The groups expressed fear about how local communities will be affected if the draft CZMP is finalised and felt that demarcations such as Port Limits will rob Goans of their rights and properties.
