PANJIM: The Directorate of Panchayats has extended the time period for village panchayats to reconstitute Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) till November 8.
Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar said that though 186 village panchayats were asked to convene extraordinary gram sabhas by October 23 to reconstitute their BMCs, several panchayats and sarpanchas requested the department to give additional time for the task, since villagers were busy during Diwali festival.
In view of this, all the taluka Block Development Officers (BDOs) have been directed to inform all panchayats of the time extension, and to submit copies of resolutions in the prescribed format to the Directorate of Panchayats and the Goa State Biodiversity Board, within three days of constitution of BMCs.
As per the Biological Diversity Act, of 2002, every local body in the State has to constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee within its area of jurisdiction for the purpose of promoting conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity including preservation of habitats, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals and micro-organisms and knowledge relating to biological diversity.
