PANJIM: Various civil society groups and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) on Monday staged a protest demanding the immediate scrapping of the draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2018 alleging it to be against public interest.
Activists under the banner Various Voluntary Associations of Goa (VVAG) petitioned Governor Dr Mridula Sinha, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and others, demanding that a new plan be drawn for the State to prohibit all the non-traditional activities like housing project, industries, ports, jetties, within the CRZ areas.
VVAG has urged the government to inform the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) immediately that the draft CRZ notification 2018 be scrapped a new CRZ law be drawn up based on facts, science, public interest and most importantly public participation.
“We have studied the said notification and have made a submission to MoEF that the changes proposed are regressive and against public interest and that the notification blatantly violates the principles of legislation, logic and science,” the memorandum stated.
VVAG, that staged a protest outside the office of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) office Monday morning, through its representation submitted to MoEF on June 13, raised serious objections and termed it as unconstitutional, demanding it to be scrapped.
VVAG said that public interest, the constitutional mandate and international commitments demand that the government and authorities concerned must give precedence to sustainable development, communities and the survival of future generations over the blind greed of a few.
The protestors have urged the government to ensure that the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Goa is prepared without delay by mapping all the spaces and areas used for or by fishing and other local communities and so too all the khazans, bunds, wetlands, mudflats, salt pans, mangroves, sand dunes and sandy beaches, coastal cliffs, turtle nesting beaches, coastal fields, creeks, Western Ghats headlands, etc.
“Carry out detailed studies in consultation with local communities, of the impact of the policies of the past 50 years on the CRZ, the local communities and the environment, including the details of homes and structures of local residents that have been demolished, the traditional coastal communities of fisher folk, toddy tappers, farmers, horticulturalists, cattle herders, craftsmen, etc and prepare a detailed report,” they demanded.
VVAG has asked the government to carry out a further study in consultation with local communities of non-traditional activities that have been allowed in the past on the coast, rivers, and khazan land, and its implication on the environment.
