PANAJI
The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) convened a special meeting on Monday to discuss and deliberate on the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2011 maps and report submitted by National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).
The GCZMA will now submit the maps and report to the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA), ahead of the December 31 deadline stipulated by the National Green Tribunal.
According to sources, the meeting was chaired by GCZMA Chairman Arun Kumar Mishra and it was attended by a number of senior officials, including Director of Tourism Menino D’Souza and four expert members.
While recommending the draft CZMP to the NCZMA, the GCZMA considered the deliberations of the Technical Scrutiny Committee and noted that NCSCM had addressed all individual objections and suggestions.
Noting that the Technical Scrutiny Committee had recommended retention of port limits in the draft plans, the GCZMA decided to reiterate its earlier decision for non-depiction of port limits, structures, removal of buffer zone for mangroves in khazan lands and for clarification regarding the developmental activities in fishing wards.
Incidentally, sources said some of the expert members expressed reservations about the process followed and depiction of port limits. They also sought one more round of public consultation before finalisation of the CZMP.
When contacted, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral spoke on the ongoing process for finalisation of the draft CZMP.
“The GCZMA had forwarded its report to the NCSCM and we have got their approval with some inputs. We have deliberated on those and it will now be forwarded to the central authority, the NCZMA, for approval and notification.”
“The NCZMA will take a final call on clearing our reports and findings,” said Cabral.
