Draft CRZ notification won't harm coastal ecology: Parrikar

The draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 2018 notification will not have any impact on Goa's ecology, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said.

No village in Goa falls in the No Development Zone (NDZ) as defined in the notification, he told the Legislative Assembly here.

Activists, under the banner of 'Goa Against CRZ', are protesting against the draft notification which reduces NDZ from 200 metres from the high-tide line to a mere 50 metres in certain areas.

The reduction will adversely affect the environment as it will lead to construction closer to the coast, they fear.

Replying to a question in this regard by Congress MLA Francis Silveira in the Assembly, Parrikar said, "Not a single coastal village in Goa comes within the ambit of NDZ.

Further, the draft CRZ notification cannot be implemented unless the state government finalises the Coastal Zone Management Plan, he said.

"The apprehensions raised are unwarranted. If you read the draft CRZ notification, not a single coastal village from Goa comes within its ambit of the population density...as per the Census Report 2011," Parrikar said.

"There is no question of implementing the draft notification until we finalise the CZMP, which will not be done without public consultation," he added.

A Chennai-based agency was drafting the CZMP for the state which would be placed in the public domain, he said.

He also denied the allegation that hotel lobby will benefit by the new CRZ notification.

"Draft CRZ notification 2018 does not give any special permission or exemption for hotel projects," he said.

The Goa government has approved the draft CRZ notification 2018, prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.