PANJIM: The Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA) has decided to notify seven new water bodies as the “wetlands” under the 2017 Central Government Wetlands (conservation and management) Rules.
During its recent meeting, GSWA chaired by Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral unanimously agreed to notify- Batim lake, Carambolim lake and Sulabhat lake in Tiswadi; Coneix lake, Taravalem lake in Ponda and Pali along with Durga lake in Salcete as wetlands.
The largest areas are covered by Tarvalem lake- area of 7.15 lakh sq mts, Coneix lake is spread across 8,950 sq mts while Pali lake covers around 44,664 sq mts.
Once an area is declared a wetland, any polluting or encroachment activities that are detrimental to this ecosystem are prohibited in the area, including setting up or expansion of industry, disposal or handling of construction waste, solid waste dumping, and discharge of untreated waste, among others.
Till date, total eight water bodies are notified as wetlands.
The Authority also decided to issue draft notification to declare 19 more water bodies as wetlands. The authority will invite public suggestions and comments on the draft notification shortly.
These 19 water bodies include –Sapu Lake, Vadle Lake, Diuler Lake, Ita Lake, Adsule Lake, Babki Lake, Bachbhatt Lake, Oilem Lake and Manali Lake in Salcete taluka. There are three lakes each from Ponda – Karmale, Tarvale and Betal Temple lake, Bicholim- Lamgao, Kodal and Kolamwada lake and from Mormugao- Zuari, Vodle-Dhakte and Maimollem Lake.
A sole water body from Bardez-Parra lake is also identified for issuing draft notification.