ASMITA POLJI
asmitapolji@herald-goa.com
PERNEM: With a population of a couple of thousand, Mandrem village will disappear from the face of the earth, if the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) drafted by a Chennai-based agency is implemented.
The CZMP is, apparently, prepared with reference to the 1971 survey when Mandrem had only fewer than thirty houses.
Besides, the CZMP for the Pernem taluka has numerous anomalies. For instance, factually, only a part of Morjim beach is demarcated as turtle nesting zone. However, the CZMP demarcates the entire coastal stretch between Morjim and Mandrem as turtle nesting zone.
With numerous defects, no wonder, the draft CZMP is facing total rejection by the panchayats in Pernem taluka.
The villagers complain that everything that existed in1971 and before is marked on the draft plan, however whatever changes took place after 1971 are not included in the plan.
The CZMP has no clarity on the HTL, settlement zones and survey numbers.
More areas are marked as khazan land in Pernem taluka; and the two creeks in Mandrem have 50-metre buffer zone and the settlements along the creeks are shown as mangroves. “If this 50-metre buffer zone is notified, then, the houses will fall within the buffer zone and will have to be demolished,’ a Mandrem villager said.
The two sand dunes on Arambol beach have not been shown on the draft CZMP; and no fishing zone is marked between Morjim and Arambol.
Along the entire Pernem coast, structures existing only beyond the 500-metre HTL line are shown, but the huts and other structures within 200 and 100 metre lines are not shown on the draft plan. The internal roads leading to the beaches and other places are not clearly shown.
The settlement and no development zones are not clearly marked on the draft plan causing confusion.
“The area along the Mandrem beach is marked as turtle nesting zone, but we don’t know on what basis it was done. Only Morjim beach falls under turtle testing and not Mandrem. We don’t object to turtle nesting; rather we help them. However, if the whole stretch is marked as turtle nesting then it will affect the livelihood of the people,” Mandrem deputy sarpanch said.
“The draft was prepared using the 1971 survey plan. No local body or department was consulted on the same. The draft plan is prepared haphazardly with no proper demarcation. The fishing spots are completely removed; if everything as per this draft plan is notified, then, all the villages will be destroyed,” Arambol Sarpanch Inacio Daniel D’Souza said.
Pawan Morje, a shack owner from Morjim said, “The panchayat will hold a meeting on July 13 to discuss this draft plan and based on the present status, a village draft will be made which will be forwarded to CRZ for reference.”
“We want the GCZMP to fall into place, because if the plan is not implemented then outsiders will rule over us after few years,” Adv Prasad Shahapurkar warned.
