As per law, give 60 days for CZMP feedback: Greens

Panaji: Goa Foundation has objected to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) giving the public only one month to send in their objections to the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and has requested that a fresh notice be issued in accordance with law.
In a letter to the authority, Goa Foundation has stated that GCZMA has no power under the CRZ notification or the Environment Protection Rules, 1986 to lay down restrictions when the rules themselves require the period to be of 60 days.The notice has also not been printed in the Goa government gazette which is a requirement of Environment Protection Rules, 1986, the letter stated.
Goa Foundation has stated that public consultation is the only forum available for the public and environmental groups to voice their objections and concerns to the drafts which have hundreds of errors and that the matter cannot be rushed. “A bad and incompetent CZMP is worse than no CZMP,” director Claude Alvares stated.
“There is no information provided whether GCZMA carried out its own appraisal before notifying the drafts for objections. The CZMPs were not placed before any meeting of GCZMA. It is therefore not clear whether GCZMA or National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management or the department of science and environment is to be held accountable for the plans uploaded in public domain,” Alvares stated.
The notice states that the public is to provide comments/observations and objections to the draft CZMP by February 28, 2021 which works out to period of one month. “This limitation is illegal,” Goa Foundation stated.
Abhijit Prabhudessai of Rainbow Warriors said the plans submitted by 118 panchayats and eight municipalities after deliberations, and after being passed at gram sabhas are not reflecting in the latest draft plans.
“What guarantee is there that the suggestions and corrections submitted now will be incorporated?” he said.
To environment minister Nilesh Cabral’s contention that the plan isn’t meant to show people’s houses, Prabhudessai said the guidelines state that all existing authorised developments should be demarcated. “Once the plan is approved, it becomes a law and anything outside that will not be allowed,” he added.