The State government has decided to write to National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) seeking time till December 2023 or January 2024 to complete the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019.
The NCZMA during its recent communication to all Coastal states has informed that it won’t grant any CRZ clearance to the developmental projects including that of the government along the coastal areas under CRZ 2011 notification from November, if CZMP 2019 is not completed by October end.
Goa, who has appointed Kerala-based National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) to draft CZMP 2019, has decided to approach NCZMA for relaxation. “The Environment department has decided to write to the NCZMA seeking time till December 2023 or latest end of January 2024 to complete the plan. We will put across various difficulties before the State in expediting the process,” sources said.
NCESS team is likely to make its visit to Goa next week. Goa is the only State amongst 11 coastal States which is yet to kick- start the process to prepare the CZMP based on 2019 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification. And such, pending drafting and finalisation of CZMP 2019, the CRZ notification 2019 and its rules and procedures are currently not applicable to the State.
NCZMA had pointed out that despite repeatedly advising State governments to finalize their respective CZMPs as per the 2019 notification, only Odisha, Karnataka, 2 district of Maharashtra (Mumb ai City and Mumbai Sub-Urban), and Great Nicobar, Little Andaman have finalised their plans.
Sources informed State had set a May 2024 deadline to complete the plan but now we will have to do it before that. Sources said that NCZMA is very clear that until and unless the CZMP is revised or updated, provisions of CRZ 2019 notification will not be applicable to Goa.
Sources said that Goa is currently following provisions of CRZ notification 2011. “CZMP 2011 is also not fully implemented yet. Sub plans like of mangrove management, khazan management and fishing areas, are not approved by the government and hence not part of the plan,” sources added.