PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Sunday stated that marinas would be allowed in Goa only if they get clearances from various authorities, including Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and other departments.
“The Goa Investment Promotion Board had received two proposals for setting up of marinas, and in principle, we agreed to give them permission But, they are subject to getting no objection certificates (NOCs) from various concerned departments,” Parsekar told Herald.
He added that the projects should not hamper the environment and ecology of the state in exchange for employment. “We need jobs, but not at the cost of the environment,” he said.
Herald, in its Sunday Review edition, reported on how the Zuari bay would be affected if the marinas were allowed. The report stated that the habitats of ecologically sensitive species would be destroyed and certain species such as window pane oysters would be extinct. Besides, while the marinas are being constructed, fish exposed to high turbidity would suffocate as sediment would clog their gills. Loss of dominant assemblages would exert a negative impact on the local fishery. The National Institute of Oceanography, too, arrived at the same conclusion.
The report also highlighted the marina proponents’ stance that the projects merited approval on economic grounds, one of which was the creation of jobs.
GSPCB has already rejected the proposal to set up a marina at Sancoale, based on the Goa Bio Diversity Board’s report in October 2014. The board was of the opinion that the project would cause “irreparable ecological damage to the fragile marine eco-system, and such a project is detrimental to the biological endowments of the Sancoale bay.”
Parsekar also refuted the Congress’ claims that the government was issuing more licenses to casinos to operate in the state. He said there was no question of new casinos in Goa; he hadn’t even received any file from a casino owner requesting permission.
