PANAJI
The State government on Monday urged the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to approve the updated Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2011 based on 1:4,000 scale, in a bid to commence the work on CZMP based on 2019 CRZ notification.
The Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met Union Minister for MoEF&CC Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi on Tuesday, during which he urged the Minister to expedite approval for the updated plan to ensure that CZMP 2019 is completed in a time-bound manner.
Sawant said, “I met Union Minister and had discussion with him on completing CZMP 2011 so that work on CZMP 2019 can start”.
State government is awaiting approval of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) to its CZMP 2011 based on 1:4,000 scale. The delay in notifying the updated plan has derailed CZMP 2019 work.
The Thrivananthpuram-based National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) has informed the State that by January, 2025, it would be in position to submit only the draft plan, provided the CZMP 2011 based on 1:4,000 scale gets approval.
In September, the State forwarded the updated CZMP 2011 based on the 1:4,000 scale to NCZMA and MoEF&CC for approval and notification. The CZMP 2011, based on the 1:25,000 scale, was notified on September 6, 2022.
NCESS is currently working on 1:25,000 scale as per CZMP 2011. Notifying CZMP 2011 under the 1:4,000 scale is a crucial step ahead of drafting a new plan based on CRZ notification 2019.
As reported earlier, until the CZMP 2011 is notified under the 1:4,000 scale, it cannot be provided to the NCESS to prepare the CZMP 2019.
There has been a delay of almost five years since the CRZ notification 2019 was notified -- the Rules and Regulations of which are currently not applicable to Goa in the absence of the plan.
