The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday dismissed the Goa government’s plea for a six-month extension to finalise the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The Green Tribunal has directed the government to submit the draft immediately.
The NGT had instructed the government to submit the plans for the coastal areas in 2019 and had directed to complete the CZMP by August 30, 2021.
The state government said it will require at least 60 days for the Goa Coastal Area Management Authority (GCZMA) to inspect the CZMP blueprint and verify the suggestions and objections. It will take another 60 days to send the draft and get approval from the National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. There has been no deliberate delay in finalizing the draft. Many Gram Panchayats as well as Municipalities have submitted draft plans in their respective areas. Many have objected to the earlier outline and have made suggestions. Due to the large number of suggestions and objections received by the GCZMA, the application was requested for the extension as it would take a long time to process.
"The Goa Foundation had sought an extension to draft the CZMP, but it was rejected by the National Green Tribunal. The government itself applied for an extension. As the Goa Foundation's earlier application was rejected, the arbitrator was forced to reject the government's application as well. Therefore, the decision of the arbitral tribunal will draw the attention of the people to the steps taken by the GCZMP to finalize the CZMP draft", said Claude Alvarez, Director, Goa Foundation.
The government had requested the arbitrator to extend this period. They also mentioned that there will be no violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) while this process is underway and instructions have been issued under the Environmental Prevention Act time.
The government had assured the tribunal that development work in the coastal area would not be approved until the Draft is finalised, but the tribunal has rejected the application.