Panel to identify coastal communities and homes
PANAJI
Goa’s fishing community has objected to the centralized conduct of public hearings on the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) at the district level and instead demanded that these be held at the taluka level.
Fishermen’s associations on Friday submitted their demand before the government citing the difficulties faced by their members comprising nearly 30,000 to make it to the two venues fixed for the hearing in North and South Goa amidst the pandemic.
The State government has fixed public hearings on the draft CZMP on March 7 at the Taleigao Community Hall in North Goa and the Ravindra Bhavan in South Goa.
“Drop the venue and hold taluka level public hearings across Goa at different dates and times,” the memorandum states.
Olencio Simoes of the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott said that the draft plans for over 50 villages have not been uploaded yet.
He also said that the draft CZMP has focused on port limits, aquaculture zones, etc, instead of marking fishing villages, fishing zones and water bodies as mandated by CRZ guidelines.
Meanwhile, a five-member Fishery Planning Committee under the Director of Environment has been set up by the government to conduct a survey to identify houses of local coastal communities and fishermen.
The committee will carry out the survey in zones between 100 and 200 metres of the high tide line to identify houses.
The panel also has the mandate to mark existing fishing infrastructure and also suggest additional infrastructure needs.
