Goa environment minister, ET RealEstate
PORVORIM: Minister for environment Aleixo Sequeira told the state assembly on Tuesday that a draft khazan land management plan has been prepared and it will be opened to the public soon for suggestions and objections.
Sequeira, while replying to the discussion on demand for grants for the environment, said the marina project is presently sub judice, but due to a stay order from the high court, it stands shelved as of today.
He said that to address a shortage of sand in the state, govt will tender the work of dredging of rivers soon, which will also provide good quality sand for construction activities.
“We will be dredging the mouth of the river, at the same time, we will get sand. We have sent a sample to the Goa Engineering College and the BITS Pilani. The report has come from the Goa Engineering College, and they have approved it,” said Sequeira.
He added that Goa govt is also exploring the possibilities of invoking the provisions of Section 6D of CRZ notification 2011 to regularise houses of fishermen in CRZ areas. Govt is also preparing a comprehensive plan for the fishing community living in CRZ areas, he said.
Similarly, the environment minister said that a report on noise hotspots identification and mitigation measures is being prepared for Goa by CSIR Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, in collaboration with Envirotech Instruments Pvt Ltd, which will be submitted by Sep 2024. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.8 crore.
He said that the state has notified 15 wetlands in Goa and another 10 will be notified within the next 10 to 15 days. The minister said that another 47 waterbodies have been identified for which the process of notifying them as wetlands will be started.
He said that an agency based in the Netherlands has been selected by the state to arrest sand erosion, as it has successfully done in Europe. “The external affairs ministry has sent the draft for vetting and approval,” said Sequeira.
He also said that a meeting has been fixed on Aug 9 to discuss the report prepared by the collectors on landslides.
