VASCO
National Fishworkers Forum celebrated Environment Day by offering tributes to former Environment Minister, late Matanhy Saldanha, while also demanding the scrapping of the linear projects and nationalization of rivers.
NFF General Secretary Olencio Simoes in a press release said that Saldanha was a real defender of the environment and was instrumental in enacting Water Pollution Act and Coastal Regulation Zone in India but unfortunately the present Environment and Forest Minister does not understand the seriousness of global warming .
“Both governments in the State and the Center are hell-bent on destroying the forests as they have diluted policies relating to protection of ecology.”
Simoes said, “All Central projects like Bharatmala, Sagarmala Blue Revolution/Neel Kranti Mission, Swadesh Darshan Scheme are a death knell for people of India. To achieve its objectives, the central government has diluted, amended all environmental laws and bought in new ones which are anti-people and anti-environment. The coastal regulation zone 1991 has been diluted in totality as all regulation within 500 meters of high tide line is removed in the new CRZ Notification 2019.”
“Goa has one of the smallest coastlines (105 kms) and a landmass of 3,704 sq km with many intervening tidal rivers and therefore has more than 40 estuarine, 8 marine and about 90 riverine islands. It is an ecologically sensitive area and needs to be protected,” he said.
“The Coastal Economic Zones in Goa are a new form of Special Economic Zones (SEZ). These will not only displace Goans but will cause irreversible damage to the environment as massive infrastructural projects like doubling of tracks, 4-lane roads, port expansion, setting up of several mini jetties and more navigational channels will come up,” he added.
He said the NFF appeals to the government on World Environment Day to withdraw the 6 nationalized rives, CRZ notification 2019 and The three linear mega projects which are against the interest of the ecosystem of the State.
