Team Herald
MARGAO: Noting that the Captain of Ports (CoP) has not complied with its previous directives, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has warned the department that it could face penalties if the khazan land filling at Ambelim and Assolna is not cleared promptly.
The issue came to light following a complaint from a resident, who alerted the GCZMA to the filling of low-lying land, which included khazan fields, water bodies, and other Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas.
Acting on the complaint, GCZMA engineer and a field surveyor inspected the site and reported serious violations of the CRZ Notification, 2011.
According to the inspection report, a large quantity of sandy soil was dumped within a no-development zone (NDZ), disrupting the area’s natural ecosystem, vegetation, rice fields, and topography. Trenches had also been excavated on the property, which opened into an adjoining water body.
Following the findings, a show cause notice was issued to the CoP. During hearings before the GCZMA, the CoP agreed to remove the filling and undo the trenches. At its 429th meeting, the GCZMA directed the department to clear the dumped material and restore the property, with a compliance report to be submitted within a month.
Despite this commitment, the authority noted earlier this month that the CoP had not acted on the
instructions.
“From the compliance report, it is noted that directions are not followed. Hence, opportunity granted till next hearing to comply, failing which penalty proceedings will be initiated against CoP,” the GCZMA recorded.
The CoP had earlier assured the authority that the removal would be completed by May 30, 2024. However, over the course of several GCZMA meetings that followed, CoP representatives remained absent.
At a hearing earlier this year, the CoP had clarified that the filling was carried out by a contractor engaged by the department. It again undertook to remove the material. Although the CoP later informed the GCZMA that compliance had been achieved, the authority found that the directions had not actually been implemented.