Team Herald
PANJIM: Several NGOs and major political parties under the banner of Goans against CRZ 2018 (GACRZ) on Monday demanded the immediate scrapping of the draft CRZ notification 2018 and threatened to file a case in court.
The group alleged that the draft CRZ 2018 notification will only benefit the real estate industry while the fishing community will suffer.
Addressing the media, GACRZ member Kennedy Afonso said, “The government gave us 60 days and across the country the fishermen community rose, made suggestions and objections which were sent to MoEF and despite this the BJP-led coalition government has given it a thumbs-up. The approval of the State government is an insult to the fishing community.”
Another member Sudeep Dalvi said that the draft CRZ notification that has proposed to reduce the CRZ area up to 50 metres will cause devastation and destruction at an unimaginable scale. “Today NGOs and major political parties are coming together to fight this notification,” Dalvi said.
The group also alleged that the draft CRZ 2018 notification has been brought only to facilitate the central government’s ambitious and anti-people plans for the Sagarmala programme in which MPT, coastal shipping traffic, waterways, coastal economic zones and industrial corridors will be developed along the 105 km coastline and 200 km river line of Goa.
“This will also impact the environment, coastal eco-system, the livelihood of the fishing community, marine bio-diversity, and tourism, local businessmen and the people of Goa at large,” GACRZ said
Goa Foundation director Claude Alvares stated that his foundation supports the demand of scrapping the Draft CRZ 2018 notification. “The draft CRZ 2018 notification is a complete disaster and we ask why it was issued. The real estate lobby has encroached forest areas and now they want to enter the CRZ. On no condition we will allow them to reduce the CRZ area up to 50 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL). The notification is completely mala fide and not in the interest of the people, ecology, fishermen and tourism.”
He added, “Either through public protest or litigation, we will ensure that the ministry will not have its way.”
GACRZ has demanded that the limit of 200 mtrs and 100 mtrs NDZ and 50 mtrs CRZ he retained and objected to the proposal to reduce it to 50 mtrs and 30 mtrs.
“Convert CRZ 2011 notification into coastal regulation zone act (CRZ Act), withdraw all three amendments to CRZ notification 2001 done through SO 3197 (E) dated July 2, 2018. Complete the coastal zone management plans (CZMPs) as per NGT order and implement CRZ notification 2011 in toto,” GACRZ added.
