PANAJI
In the face of the Central government’s push to attract investments by easing restrictions under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) laws and regulations via the new CRZ-2019 notification, Goa’s greens are banking on the legal recourse with the notification itself facing challenges in various High Courts across coastal States of the country and even the Supreme Court of India.
In Goa, the Federation of Rainbow Warriors challenged the CRZ-2019 notification via a PIL writ petition months after the notification was issued back in March 2019 before the Bombay High Court.
The High Court last heard the petition on August 3 this year, when the bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Mahesh Sonak ruled that the court will defer the matter to await the outcome of a similar challenge to the notification in the Supreme Court of India.
Another writ petition has been filed by the Goa Foundation and a third by activist Kashinath Shetye which have all been clubbed together by the Bombay High Court.
Most of Goa’s green activists The Goan spoke to meanwhile said although the legal challenge in the courts is crucial, they will continue to oppose the government’s moves to open the floodgates of real estate and commercial exploitation of the coastal regions with continuous action on the ground as well.
“The CRZ-2019 notification dangerously disregards Goa’s unique Khazan ecosystems in the CRZ areas. It is detrimental to the interests of local communities, particularly fishermen, living in the coastal villages for ages,” said Abhijeet Prabhudesai of Rainbow Warriors.
Meanwhile, the State government is moving swiftly to kick start the process of preparing draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) of the State based on the CRZ-2019 notification.
Earlier this week, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral revealed that Kerala-based National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) has been engaged to draft the new CZMP based on CRZ Notification 2019.
The work order has been issued to the agency and by next week the timelines will be set, Cabral had said. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already set a March 2023 deadline for Goa but the minister admitted it is not practically possible to meet.
Goa’s CZMP based on the CRZ Notification of 2011 itself got notified by the MoEF&CC only in September this year, after enormous delay and multiple indictments by the NGT.
The notification of the CZMP of the State is in fact a basic requirement to permit projects in CRZ areas which were banned by the earlier CRZ 2011 notification but allowed under the new 2019 notification.
Meanwhile, apart from the concerns raised over the disregard to Goa’s unique Khazan lands, the CRZ-2019 notification has entailed relaxations for sand mining in CRZ areas, including from beaches, is yet another dimension of worry for the State’s greens.
