The CZMP has been sent back to be redrafted. Over the week Herald will take up the objections to the map of each coastal taluka
DHIRAJ HARMALKAR
dhiraj@herald-goa.com
VASCO: Vasco civil society representatives are angry at the several errors that have cropped up in the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) draft. Local governing bodies and people are in dark about the CZMP and the unanimous view is that there has to be proper awareness.
Speaking to Herald, Goencho Avaaz co-convener Capt Viriato Fernandes said that it is surprising that fishing villages along the coast have not been shown or mapped and that the fishermen and their families who traditionally have been the guardians of the coast and dependent on the sea for their survival, feel cheated and let down as their villages have not been mapped.
“What is shocking is that many water bodies have not been shown. Eco-sensitive zones coming under CRZ-I like the windowpane oyster bay, fish breeding areas, clams/tisreo bay, turtle nesting sites, etc are not shown in the map. Even some islands have not been shown,” Fernandes said.
He said that Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority has admitted that the maps last made, viz, in 1996 in accordance with CRZ Notification 1991 are missing. “Then the question arises as to which maps did the NCSCM team compare /refer to prior to making the present set of draft CZMPs?” he questioned.
The Goencho Avaaz leader regretted that the NCSCM team did not interact with stakeholders, especially the fishermen community and environmental organisations. “The panchayat members are in dark and are unable to explain the CZMP to the villagers,” he said.
“Hazard lines are not shown. Pollution levels have not been marked. Land use has not been shown. Fishing and breeding areas/sites have not been marked. Khazan areas have not been marked in many villages. No mapping of the existing authorised developments on the seaward side. Windowpane oysters in Chicalim Bay not mapped. Khariwada beach in Vasco is not shown. Areas pertaining to MPT not shown, these are some of the loopholes I see in the CZMP draft,” he said.
Savio Correia, who has been fighting to save Vasco from pollution, said that almost a third of the Mormugao municipal area falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). “The CZMP maps prepared for the municipal area under CRZ Notification 2011 have the same drawbacks, deficiencies, and inaccuracies that were noticed in the rest of Goa. Besides, I did not find any management plans or proposals for conservation of the coastal areas of Mormugao and Vasco. I feel one major area of focus ought to be the restoration and restitution of the Vasco bay (Kharewada) beach that got eroded over the years due to rampant dredging by MPT,” Correia said.
He further opined that the century-old cadastral maps clearly indicate a 20-meter wide beach along the entire stretch, a fact confirmed by city survey maps as well as by the elders. Secondly, fishing wards need to be accurately marked to ensure legal protection to houses of traditional fishermen. Thirdly, there is the issue of large tracts of River Zuari alongside the Mormugao Port operational area that, he said, was ‘illegally’ reclaimed by MPT.
“Now that the draft CZMP has been sent back to the drawing board, I feel that views of traditional fishermen, elected representatives, the municipality and the citizens ought to be consulted with for data collection. Mormugao Municipal Council also ought to take some time off their toppling games and deliberate on the draft CZMP,” he said.
