the goan I network
PANAJI
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has, in a notification, reconstituted the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) three months after the term of the previous body expired on July 21 this year.
The reconstituted body brings in a complete set of new faces of expert members with none of the previous members making it.
The reconstituted body consists of Audhut J Bhounsale former executive engineer of the Public Works Department, Dr Nandakumar Sawant Principal of Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Dr Prabhakar Shirodkar a former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Oceanography, Prof Suhas Godse, former Head of Department of Zoology of Dhempe College of Arts and Science and Shirang Jambhale a secretary of the Gram Vikas Kendra an NGO at Savoi Verem.
Conspicuously, none of the previous expert members, who were known to be fiercely independent have found their names in the reconstituted panel.
Previous expert members include Dr. Antonio Arsenio Mascarenhas, Raghunath Dhume Dr Savita Kerkar and Dr Nitin Sawant. Among the four, Dr Antonio Mascarenhas was known to be a staunch environmentalist whose site inspection reports have threatened to derail several dubious government projects Continued from P1
including the Chapora beautification project, the Baina beautification project as well as the reinforcement of bunds in the village of Santo Estevao (Zuia) by the Water Resources Department.
The aforementioned members also brought to a halt expansion plans of the Kala Academy jetty, a new excise outpost at Kiranpani in Pernem as they were in violations of terms of the CRZ regulation.
The notification issued by Arun Kumar Mehta comes just as the Tourism Department, under pressure from the shack owners lobby, called for applications from shack owners with the last date to submit applications being October 28.
Shack owners need a mandatory clearance from the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority and with the body being “non est” since the expiry of the term of the previous body, dark clouds hovered over the shack industry this season.
The ex-officio members continue to remain the same and include the heads of the Forest, Panchayat, Survey and Land Records, Tourism, Fisheries, Water Resources and Environment Departments while the body is headed by the Principal Secretary Environment.
With the constitution of the GCZMA the only hurdle remaining before the shack owners in the final report of the beach carrying capacity study and sand dune mapping in Goa.
