PANAJI
Legal sand mining activities would be prohibited completely along the Zuari lake, as the State Environment department has proposed the water body to be declared as “wetland”.
The department has issued a draft notification declaring Zuari lake, admeasuring an area of 136840 square meters, located in village Sancoale, as “wetland” under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
According to the draft notification, once an area is declared a wetland, extraction of sand or mud for commercial purposes would be strictly prohibited. Currently, sand mining activities are banned in Goa while illegal sand extraction activities are rampant.
According to the draft notification, the lake is considered to be critically significant for its ecosystem services and biodiversity values for the local communities and society at large.
“It is considered that for sustaining these values, the ecological character of the wetland ecosystem needs to be maintained by regulating developmental activities within the wetland as well as within its zone of influence; and prohibiting activities,” the notification stated.
The Rules also prohibit any polluting or encroachment activities that are detrimental to this ecosystem are prohibited in the area, including setting up or expansion of industry, disposal or handling of construction waste, solid waste dumping, and discharge of untreated waste, conversion for non-wetland purpose, among others.
The Rules permit planting indigenous trees in buffers and zone of influence, excluding water channel. The government will also permit existing religious activities like performing Chhath Puja. The people would be allowed to withdraw the water, without over extraction, only after approval from WRD and Goa State Wetland Authority.
