Team Herald
PANJIM: To speed up the disposal of cases related to Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) violations in the State, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has decided to refer all fresh applications and complaints to the District Level Coastal Monitoring Committees (DLCMC) in North and South, for initial inspections and recommendation.
The State government had in September 2017 constituted District Level Coastal Monitoring Committees in a bid to reduce the burden on GCZMA. The committees were supposed to deal with only major violations. The committees, which will be chaired by the District Collectors, will also provide a helping hand to GCZMA in monitoring the compliance of conditions stipulated by the authority while granting various permissions under CRZ notification 2011.
However, the district administration, reeling under severe staff storages had restricted them from taking the additional burden. However, the Authority has now decided to transfer all new applications and complaints to the district committees.
“In general, all the fresh complaints/applications would be sent to the district level committee for inspection based on which the Authority after granting personal hearing to parties concerned will pass appropriate orders,” the Authority decided during a recent Board meeting.
“Inspection by expert members of GCZMA would be for remand cases and urgent cases as referred to them by the authority,” the authority added.
It has also been decided that the expert members are to be compulsorily accompanied by DSLR representatives and forest officials (when needed) for inspections.
The district committees have also been granted powers to take suo-motu cognisance of any illegal violations, including newspaper reports. Issuing show cause notices, stop work order, directions to mamlatdars or government authorities, are also powers vested with the committee.
