Team Herald
PANJIM: In a major relief to Goa Government, the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) has agreed to undertake necessary amendment to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2011 in order to drop the demarcation of the High Tide Line (HTL) in the inundated khazan land thereby restricting the same to the bund/sluice gate but keeping the mangrove areas as CRZ-IA.
However, the Authority has declined to reduce the No Development Zone (NDZ) in the coastal areas having headlands.
State Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral, through series of communications to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has proposed various amendments to the CRZ notification 2011 to allow State to exclude HTL in khazan land, so as to facilitate to draw a practical Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The village panchayats and concerned citizens had raised their strong objections over erroneous demarcation of HTL.
The NCZMA during its 39th meeting held on January 13, deliberated the issue and observed that in so far as Khazan Land issue is concerned, there is valid reason and accordingly it can be agreed that HTL shall be restricted to the bund/sluice gate but keeping the mangrove areas as CRZ-IA.
As per the minutes of the meeting, the NCZMA, however, agreed that the mangroves shall be untouched and protected.
It was further decided that since this would require an amendment of CRZ regulations, the same may be done as appropriately with condition that “in case, there exists a bund or a sluice gate constructed in the past, prior to the date of notification issued dated 19.02.1991, the HTL shall be restricted to the line along the bund or the sluice gate”.
“In such a case, area under mangroves arising due to saline water ingress beyond the bund or sluice gate shall be classified as CRZ-1A, irrespective of the extent of the area beyond the bund or sluice gate,” the NCZMA added.
The NCZMA also decided that the State government shall immediately take up work for restoration of the bunds/sluice gates and its proper operation and maintenance.
Meanwhile, the NCZMA has declined to reduce the NDZ area for headlands having height of more than 10 mts from mean sea level, the HTL shall be 10 mts from the top face of the headland, as proposed by the State.
The Authority has directed Government to come up with details of headlands and information on its geomorphologic stability in the past 50 years and only then the matter can be relooked at a later stage.
Also, the Authority has agreed to incorporate the specific provision accorded to Goa in the CRZ Notification, 2011 with regards to temporary seasonal structures, customarily put up from September to May in the intertidal zones and NDA, in the CRZ notification 2019.
