Team Herald
PANJIM: Here's a red flag. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the government will exclude maximum villages from Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA).
In the draft Western Ghats ESA notification, the Centre has marked 108 villages in Goa as ESA. Of these 108 villages, 64 are situated in North Goa and 44 in South Goa district.
The Goa government has earlier requested the Centre to exclude 40 villages from eco-sensitive areas. It appears that it wants more villages not to be included in the eco sensitive zone, quite obviously to allow its version of “development” to happen there.
It should be underlined that commercial activities like mining are not allowed in eco sensitive zones.
The government has submitted its proposal to the Centre to exclude as many as 45 villages out of 108 villages from ESA. He said that the villages will be declared ESA based on three criteria - dense forest with species, contiguity and height.
“ESA issue is very clear. It is a draft notification and not a final. Our effort will be to ensure that maximum villages are dropped from the list. Traditional business and reconstruction of houses will not be affected,” he said.
Last month, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had reissued the sixth draft notification declaring over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six States, including 1,461 square kilometres in Goa as ecological sensitive areas.
In the draft Western Ghats ESA notification, the Centre has marked 108 villages in Goa as ecologically sensitive areas even as the Sawant government has requested the Centre to exclude 40 villages from eco-sensitive areas. Of these 108 villages, 64 are situated in North Goa and 44 in South Goa district.
Reiterating that it was a draft proposal Sawant said that the issue was going on for last years and Goa government is continuously corresponding with the Centre.
The Chief Minister further said that traditional business, farming activity and reconstruction of houses will not be affected and it will be permitted while, only commercial activities like mining will not be allowed in the ESA. The ESA issue is related to six States and not only to Goa, he clarified.
Enviromentalists in the State have been demanding that Goa should be declared as ecologically-sensitive area (ESA) in the backdrop of Wayanad landslide.