Govt moves to relax high tide line; greens cautious

Panaji: The state government will urge the Centre to make certain relaxations while demarcating the high tide line (HTL) for Goa with a view to protect the interests of the traditonal fishermen, environment and forests minister Rajendra Arlekar said on Saturday.
Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) had earlier demarcated the HTL for Goa and other coastal states, paving the way for preparation of coastal zone management plans (CZMP).
Speaking at a press conference, Arlekar said, “A joint meeting between the state and central governments will be held within the next fortnight to finalize the HTL. We have to demarcate the HTL the way people want. We will demand that Goa not be put in the same category as other states while finalizing the HTL."
Environmentalists said that the government would have to take care that there is no misuse of the proposed relaxation sought, by commercial interest. This is because, Goa has witnessed rampant CRZ violations along the 105-km coastline and no government has acted sternly against the violators which include politically-connected businessmen.
National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) had described as “unsatisfactory” the action taken report, on CRZ violations, sought by it from Goa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The issue of HTL and preparation of CZMPs figured at the 31st meeting of NCZMA held on May 24.
At the 30th meeting of NCZMA on February 29, coastal states and union territories were asked to expedite the process of finalizing CZMPs and submit HTL demarcations, after verification, by March 31. They were also told to map ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) and coastal regulation zones (CRZ) by May 31.
The deadline for preparing new CZMPs was later extended till September 30. Now, the validity of CZMPs already approved under the CRZ Notification, 1991, has been extended up to January 31, 2017, via an amendment dated March 22, 2016.
Goa and some other states have put up requests for rechecking of turtle nesting sites, mudflats, reef areas, salt marshes and other eco-sensitive areas. Four beaches, Mandrem and Morjim in Pernem, and Agonda and Galgibaga in Canacona, have been designated as turtle nesting sites as per the CRZ notification, 2011.