MARGAO
Terming the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) as a “Port Plan” aimed at usurping the powers of the State and Panchayat bodies over the coast and rivers, the extra-ordinary meeting of the Curtorim gram sabha on Thursday outright rejected the CZMP sent by the government.
Local MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, who attended the gram sabha, also voiced his firm opposition the CZMP and urged the panchayat to immediately send the objections to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA).
Members of the gram sabha were requested to come in large numbers for the March 7 public hearing scheduled at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao to lodge their objection to the CZMP.
The gram sabha meeting chaired by Sarpanch Milagres Rodrigues.
Explaining the plan to the gram sabha members, Abhijit Prabhudesai said the CZMP has shown the entire coast and the rivers as Port Limits with a diabolic plan to take away the State’s and Panchayat’s jurisdiction over the rivers and the coast. “There’s a plan behind the move to show the coast and the rivers as port limits. The Parliament has already passed the Major Ports Authority Bill and will become a law when it receives the accent of the President. They have made a mention about the Port Authority, Port Limits and the nearby area and they will make the Master plan how to use the Khazan land,” Abhijit said, adding that the Bill seeks to take away the powers of the State and the panchayats in respect of the jurisdiction over the coast and rivers.
Saying that the government is trying to bulldoze with the CZMP despite objections from the villages as part of the overall plan, Abhijit appealed to the people to attend the public hearing on March 7 at 10 at the Ravindra Bhavan.
After the resolution was put for voting, the gram sabha members unanimously opposed the CZMP.
