PANAJI
The State government continues to await 1:4,000 scale maps, which are crucial for drafting the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019, from the Chennai-based agency National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, on Monday, said that the maps are expected to be received within the coming three weeks from the agency.
NCSCM was supposed to submit these plans to the Goa government by May 31. These maps are also important for notifying CZMP 2011, which is partially notified based on 1:25,000 scale maps.
During a meeting in Delhi with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav, CM Sawant, accompanied by Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira, insisted on the necessity of these maps for initiating CZMP 2019.
“We have conveyed to the union minister about the 1:4,000 scale maps, which we expect within three weeks for rectification. The minister has assured to resolve the issue,” Sawant said.
The notification of CZMP 2011 at a 1:4,000 scale is a prerequisite for providing the data to the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) to prepare CZMP 2019.
Around two months ago, the government began aligning these local maps at a 1:4,000 scale with official Revenue Maps from the Department of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR). This process involves correcting discrepancies in nearly 250 maps received in PDF format from the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in October 2023.
The CZMP 2011 for Goa, approved and notified by the Centre on September 6, 2022, marked the state’s first comprehensive plan. However, only the plan based on a 1:25,000 scale has been implemented, while the 1:4,000 scale plan awaits notification.
CM Sawant further urged the MoEF&CC to soon begin mining transportation and the exclusion of 36 villages from eco-sensitive areas (ESA) under the Centre’s notification on Western Ghat.
“ESA has to be notified again as there were mistakes in the previous one,” he stated.
CM also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and other central leaders after the oath ceremony for the Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs).
Sawant has invited Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate the six-lane link road connecting NH 66 to Manohar International Airport at Mopa and to lay the foundation stone for the four-lane connectivity from MES College junction to Bogmalo junction.
