DRAWING THE BATTLE LINES
* The united group members will be hitting the road and plant a coconut sapling in every coastal village within the 200 meter CRZ------------------------------------------------------------
* Members of the group will also be making presentations in each village to raise awareness amongst the residents
* They have also decided to continue raising their voices throughout the duration of the upcoming Monsoon Assembly Session
PANAJI: Civil society and green organizations joined forces with Goa's opposition political parties to up the ante against the State government's recent nod to the Centre's draft of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification.
At least six NGOs joined hands with the Congress and Aam Admi Party (AAP) to form an umbrella organisation 'Goans Against CRZ' which they announced on Monday.
The group said they will voice the "anger and frustration" of the people of Goa over the State government's decision to concur with the Centre's CRZ draft without holding any local consultations.
Arthur D'Souza from the Goenkars against PDA (Planning and Development Authorities) group alleged that the Pollution Control Board (PCB) was not even monitoring the sewage treatment of the existing structures along the coast, implying that that newer structures that the draft notification purportedly intends to allow will spell doom. AAP general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar urged like minded organisations to set aside egos and join forces with 'Goans against CRZ' to ensure success of the fight to save Goa's coast. He said, the State government has committed a sin against democracy by giving its nod without holding consultations.
Activist Kennedy Afonso said that when the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) had stipilated a 60-days window across India to voice out objections to the draft CRZ notification, Goychea Ramponkarancho Ekvott had got one-lakh signatures from the fishing community of the state and submitted a detailed report with their objections to the MoEF.
"Despite this, the BJP led government has given a nod to the draft notification. This is going to be detrimental to Goans at large," he said.
Goans Against CRZ will be hitting the road and plant a coconut sapling in every coastal village in the state within the 200 meter Coastal Regulation Zone as a mark of protest. Its members will make presentations in each village to raise awareness amongst the residents and will continue to raise their voices throughout the duration of the upcoming Monsoon Assembly Session.
Speaking on the adverse effects of the provisions in the CRZ draft notification, Manuel Cardozo of the Traditional Shack Owners Association said: "We will be hit badly as 5-star hotels will take prime place and there will be no place for any shacks."
Goa Foundation founder-director Claude Alvares recalled that the last time the Central government had tried to reduce the CRZ to 50 meters from the High Tide Line in 1994, the courts had struck it down and restored it back to 100 meters.
Alvares also said that there was a time gap of 20 years between the first and second CRZ notifications, between 1991 and 2011, adding that there was no need to issue a third notification within 7-8 years.
"On no condition will we allow the relaxation," Alvares said, alleging that the Real Estate lobby was behind it.
This notification is not in the interest of either the fishermen, the ecology, the people, or tourism," Alvares said, assuring that they would ensure that the MoEF would not have its way.
Congress spokesperson Sankalp Amonkar said: "God-given natural beauty of Goa would not be destroyed." He said, the issue will be discussed at the Assembly's monsoon session.
Rui da Gama of human rights organisation Asha, said the notification will destroy the more than 100 kilometer coastline of Goa.
At least the municipal and panchayat bodies besides Zilla panchayat representatives that have jurisdiction over CRZ areas should have been consulted, he added.
