Team Herald
PANJIM: For effective implementation and management of the Eco Sensitive Areas (ESA) in Goa, the State government has proposed to bifurcate villages identified in the draft notification by the Union Environment Ministry into two revenue villages by clear demarcation of boundaries. The State government has proposed the inclusion of 69 villages, as against the list of 99, as ESA in the Western Ghats region.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in its draft notification issued in July, had listed 99 villages from Goa as ESA. The draft notification was strongly opposed by the State government as well as the opposition.
State Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral in a letter to the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, had said, considering the small size of the State and the two parameters mentioned by the high-level working group (HLWGP), there are only 59 villages which strictly pass the conditions, while there are 10 villages which do not fulfill the criteria but for sake of contiguity with the ESA of the neighbouring State of Maharashtra and Karnataka with Goa, may also be considered.
“I therefore propose to include 69 villages to be notified under Western Ghats ecologically sensitive areas,” Cabral said in the letter.
The Minister said that the natural boundaries such as rivers, streams, nullahs, and roads have been taken into consideration while notifying the wildlife sanctuaries as well eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) in Goa. “Therefore, in case of some villages, out of these 69, only a part of their area falls under protected regimes,” he said.
Cabral recommended that only the parts of those villages which do not entirely fall under ESZ for Western Ghats, be notified, instead of the whole village
“The State will ensure the implementation of the notification even in those villages, which are partly in the ESA by clear demarcation of boundaries, after carrying out detailed surveys, and if need be, also bifurcate the village into two revenue villages for effective management of the ESA,” the Minister assured.
Cabral urged the Union Minister to consider the State’s proposal since the preservation of ecology and development of the State are two necessary components for a better life for the residents of the State.
