PANAJI
Even as the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) retained all 108 villages in Goa under the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in its seventh draft notification, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday urged people not to panic, assuring that the State government would submit fresh objections before the final notification is issued.
The Ministry on Tuesday released the seventh draft notification proposing to notify 1,461 sq km in Goa as part of the Western Ghats ESA, rejecting the State government's earlier recommendation to restrict the coverage to 87 villages.
Addressing reporters, Sawant stressed that the notification is only a draft and that the State still has an opportunity to press its case with the Centre.
"People need not panic. Let us not mislead people or create confusion. This is only a draft notification issued by the Ministry, and we have enough scope to raise our objections," the Chief Minister said.
He maintained that the final notification would be issued only after consultations with the State government and other stakeholders. "We will submit our fresh objections, and the Ministry will listen to our grievances before taking a final decision," Sawant said.
The Ministry has provided a fresh 60-day window for Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to submit objections and suggestions on the draft notification.
The notification also states that the final extent of the ESA will be determined after examining the recommendations of the State governments, views of stakeholders and the report of the ESA Expert Committee.
"The Committee is addressing the issues raised by the States in the Western Ghats region on discrepancies or information gaps. The actual area will be finalised based on the recommendation of the State, views of stakeholders and the ESA Expert Committee," the draft notification states.
According to the proposal, the ESA in Goa comprises 63 villages in Sattari taluka, 26 in Sanguem, 13 in Dharbandora, five in Canacona and one village in Ponda.
The latest draft mirrors the previous notification issued in August 2024, despite Goa having sought significant revisions. In its response to the Centre, the State had argued that only 87 villages met the criteria prescribed by the Ministry and recommended the exclusion of 21 villages-12 from Sattari, five from Dharbandora, three from Sanguem and one from Canacona.
