PANAJI
The Goa Foundation has shot off a letter to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority protesting the limit of 30 days laid down in the public notice for the consultation on the draft CZMPs, which they say is ‘not legal’ as it is contrary to the 60-day limit provided by the Environment Protection Rules, 1986, which is the basis for the public hearing procedures.
The Foundation alleged that several gross errors have been allowed into the draft CZMPs. Rezoning of beach areas like Querim (Tiracol), Palolem, Cola have been carried out without any legal basis. Each village community is finding hundreds of errors in the village plans.
The Environmental Action group has said that since the GCZMA has no powers to reduce the period of objections to 30 days, it will send its objections to the draft CZMPs to the GCZMA within the 60 day period.
The GCZMA has been in a hurry to try and complete the process and has scheduled a public hearing in North Goa and South Goa
The Foundation blamed the GCZMA for putting up the maps for the public hearing without examining them first.
“All the errors pointed out by village communities during the 2019 public consultation have remained in the new draft plans. This only means all village level inputs into the plan process have been ignored. This is wholly unacceptable,” the Foundation said in a statement.
