Panaji
In view of the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) notification being given an all clear by the Centre, the Goa Congress has asked the State government to clarify how it will affect Goa and to what extent.
Congress spokesperson Amarnath Panjikar pointed out that while the Chief Minister had orally assured the public before the draft notification was made final that it would not affect Goa, no clarification has come forth on record after the final notification has been issued.
“Not a single authority is coming forth to clarify whether this will affect Goa or not,” said Panjikar on Monday, demanding that the government come clear at the earliest. He also alleged that the Modi-Shah duo at the Centre had been in a big hurry to issue this notification to favour land sharks. Panjikar also questioned what connection the Sagarmala project and the coal hub had with the
hurried issuing of the CRZ notification.
Further, the Congress slammed the government for not holding any public hearings on an important issue affecting India’s coast. “There was no public hearing in Goa on the issue. Over one lakh objections from coastal states were submitted to the government, but it never considered these,” said Panjikar. “There is no Coastal Zone Management Plan in place either,” he said.
Panjikar also said that the government needed to pay heed to other issues of higher importance that were still pending. “In Goa, there are around 1,500 unresolved cases pertaining to the 2011 CRZ notification that are pending in court and with the deputy collector,” lamented Panjikar.
The Congress has also asked BJP MLAs Michael Lobo and Alina Saldanha to make their stand clear since they belong to the same party. Congress will raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly Session.
