MARGAO
A meeting called to discuss the contentious issue of notifying bio-diversity heritage site status for the lakes in Curtorim village has decided to take all the stakeholders and citizens on board before taking a final call on giving the heritage tag to the water bodies.
Goa State Bio-Diversity Board Member Secretary S Kadam went a step forward to reassure the people that no decision on notifying bio-diversity heritage tag to the Curtorim lakes will be taken unless and until the people of Curtorim takes a final call on the matter.
Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, who also attended the meeting, has come out in support of declaring the village lakes, playing host to two crops, as bio-diversity heritage sites, saying a meeting will be called of all the stakeholders to discuss the issue as part of a consultative process.
The GSBB Member Secretary had called for the Thursday’s meeting after Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira took cognizance of the host of complaints lodged by the stakeholders including the tenants associations raising their concern over the heritage tag for the water bodies.
GSBB Member Secretary Kadam categorically told the participants at the meeting held at the Curtorim panchayat hall that though the process to notify the Curtorim lakes as bio-diversity heritage sites had started in 2015, the process has not been finalised as yet. “There are many people, who have come out with certain grievances. My request to the villagers as well as the Curtorim Bio-diversity Management Committee is to bring all these people on board,” he said.
Throwing the ball in the court of the Curtorim villagers, Kadam said, “Let the villagers demarcate the lakes and the boundaries. Only then, we will go ahead with the notification. You first finalise the lakes and only then they will be notified. But, at the same time, you cannot keep the proposal hanging. The Board is asking the status of the Curtorim bio-diversity heritage site proposal.”
He reminded the participants that even a tree, forest, nest, water bodies can all be part of the bio-diversity heritage.
When a participant sought to know the benefits of notifying certain lakes as heritage sites, Kadam replied back saying apart from protecting the lakes for posterity, the government funds the protection of the water bodies.
MLA Reginaldo Lourenco said the meeting has virtually decided in favour of notifying the village lakes as bio-diversity heritage sites, but after a thorough consultative process. “I am in favour of protecting our water bodies for posterity. We will only notify the lakes which are used for two crops in the year as heritage sites,” he said, adding that a meeting will soon be called to discuss the issue threadbare.
Sarpanch Alexinho Da Silva said the meeting was conducted in a smooth manner saying the panchayat would take the consultative process forward on the matter.
Curtorim ZP Member Michele Rebello, Chairman of the Curtorim Bio-diversity Management Committee J Santan Rodrigues, panchayat members and members of the tenants association attended the meeting.
