PANAJI
The State government has informed the House that it will undertake a year-long feasibility study to assess the revival potential of Goa’s traditional khazan lands after a preliminary assessment by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) identified select sites suitable for restoration through science-backed interventions.
As per the preliminary study conducted by TERI in January this year -- the report which was placed on the Floor of the House by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant -- the upstream khazan fields at Poinguinim retain near-natural freshwater conditions, making them the most suitable locations for immediate revitalisation efforts.
The study further notes that khazans in Amona and Virdi in Bicholim taluka, are in a transitional ecological state, offering strong potential for restoration if proper hydraulic controls and water management systems are introduced.
However, the report cautions that downstream khazan areas in Batim in Tiswadi and Poinguinim have undergone ecological conversion into marine-dominated systems, making them unsuitable for revival of freshwater-based khazan agriculture.
“Way forward recommendation would be to perform Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) map to understand the historical pattern of abandonment of the active khazans, and revitalization of passive khazans in the existing and broader talukas, along with a critical investigation of soil health and crop productivity under varied salinity conditions,” TERI said in the report.
Based on the findings, Sawant told the State Legislative Assembly that Poinguinim, Amona and Virdi have been identified as priority sites where science-backed interventions combined with community-based resource management could help promote sustainable agricultural activity in khazan lands.
At the same time, he stressed that a comprehensive baseline assessment will be required before large-scale interventions are taken up. “A comprehensive baseline assessment would require a feasibility study of at least one year to obtain a broader understanding of the current status of the khazans including financial assistance,” Sawant said.
This should be carried out through a detailed methodological approach, including LULC analysis, assessment of soil quality and crop productivity, evaluation of rainfall patterns and other climatic variables, and socio-economic analysis of dependent communities, the Chief Minister said.
Pending the assessment, the government said immediate conservation measures could be initiated in the Poinguinim khazans, while restoration activities may be taken up in Amona based on the preliminary findings of the pre-feasibility assessment.
