BARDEZ: Reis Magos villagers have raised their strong objections to draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) at a meeting held to discuss the plan.
When the field surveyor Shrikant Patel from Land Survey Department explained the draft CZMP, the villagers opposed stating that the mangroves have been shown in settlement zone and in habitats, which are densely populated.
Locals claimed that the mangroves shown in the map are located on other side of the river, which are wrongly marked in settlement zone. A 50-metre buffer zone has been shown in the map, which has left out several houses.
Saligao MLA Jayesh Salgaonkar alleged that mangroves shown in the map are mere vegetation and not mangroves. A 50 meter buffer zone is shown on the map however this buffer zone is crossing many houses. If this buffer zone is shown then the residents will be not in position to carry out development works in future.
“Several areas are wrongly shown on the map. This map is created using Google by a Chennai-based company, which does not know the ground reality. By taking the locals into consideration, the panchayat will inspect the different areas and the map will be redrawn, which will be forwarded to the concerned authorities,” Salgaonkar said.
