MARGAO: Dr Jorson Fernandes, President of United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) stated that the CRZ notification 2018 could be misused as on its undercover there appears to be a clever, hidden ploy to sell whatever is left of Goa.
He said that with MPT having a purportedly new role which points to the acquisition of coastal areas being used by traditional ramponnkars, the future for the true sons of the soil appears to be bleak.
Dr Jorson asserted that the proposed CRZ notification 2018 whilst favouring vested interests with the opening of Goa’s pristine 105-km coast for more commercial activities under the garb of tourism, puts at risk the ecology and the most ecologically sensitive areas like mangroves and sand dunes with dire consequences for Goan traditional fishing communities whose very existence for livelihood could be in jeopardy.
“The Union Cabinet quietly approved the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2018 as the year 2018 was drawing to a close. The last review issued in 2011 was off-limits for tourism activities and infrastructure developments except for defence, strategic and rare public utility projects. The latest notification under CRZ-1 allows eco-tourism activities such as mangrove walks, tree huts, nature trails, etc in eco-sensitive areas, demarcated as CRZ-IA. Sea links, salt harvesting and desalination plants and roads on stilts are also allowed in CRZ-IA”, he stated.
