PANJIM: In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public hearing on the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), scheduled on July 8, will be held on offline as well as online platforms. Considering the number of participants and speakers, the hearing, if required, will be conducted for more than a day.
Following directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has scheduled the public hearing on the draft CZMP on Thursday, July 8, from 10 am onwards at Campal Parade ground in North Goa and SGPDA ground in South Goa. To ensure that there is no last minute fiasco, like the last time, GCZMA has permitted spot registration of participants and speakers, with no restrictions on the number. It has also given time till June 30, for those wanting to attend the hearing, to get registered.
“Use of virtual platform/online facility shall also be employed in addition to the physical public hearing process,” the notice issued by GCZMA states.
Speaking to media persons on the hearing, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral said, “Each speaker will be allotted 15 minutes during the hearing, including the virtual hearing.”
“We will not restrict the number of participants. Based on the total registration we get by June 30, we will decide on the number of days, the hearing is to be conducted,” he said.
Cabral said those who are unable to register by June 30 will be allowed spot registration on the day of hearing from 10 am to 2 pm, and after that no entries would be entertained.
“All the stakeholders are welcome to attend the hearing. Speakers as well as other participants will be given an opportunity to raise their point on the plan,” he explained.
However, the minister said the platform should not be misused for “political speeches”.
“We would love to hear from the genuine stakeholders… those who are likely to be affected… we are prepared for positive people… people with political agenda should avoid… elections are due in next 7-8 months and hence this should not be used as a platform for political speeches,” he said.
GCZMA has also asked participants to restrict their speeches to the matter in question and that it should not contain any “political” or “personal” criticism of any nature as this will not be permitted.
Goa Foundation had moved the NGT challenging the manner in which the public hearing to finalise the CZMP was held on March 7. The grievance of the applicant was that the public hearing already held was not meaningful. The Foundation had pointed out to the uproar that took place on the day of public hearing after several stakeholders were denied permission to participate in the hearing.
Cabral said in view of COVID-19 situation, they had restricted the number of participants during the last hearing.
GCZMA said the participants will have to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocols.
