As per a report (The Goan Everyday 15.12.2023), the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) has entrusted the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) to map the shoreline changes along the beaches of Goa. The NCSCM would extract data about shoreline changes for the period 2011-2022 by using satellite imageries and aerial photographs. The study would pertain to the open beaches and exclude features such as rivers, creeks, etc. The report alongwith the database and maps need to be tabled within 8 months. After reading the news it felt like a déjà vu for such data has already been submitted to the Centre and to Goa in the past, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO, in March 2023), the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) and by NCZMA itself. In the above background, another survey by the NCZMA will be a waste of time and money. Moreover, Goa government needs to insist on validating the data through ground-truthing. it would be prudent for the Goa government to immediately take up the remedial measures to protect the coastline based on the already available reports and recommendations.
