Goemksarponn desk
CALANGUTE: The Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) has slammed the ODP 2025 for Baga Calangute, saying there was a lack of vision in planning our coastal Villages through ODP 2025, which basically is done for self-interest rather than in the interest of the village Environment.
“Baga Hill is one of its kind where you find more than 36 different species of migrated birds, and was always a hotspot for bird watching for tourists, domestic as well international. Baga Hill was rich in biodiversity, and medicinal plants existed until 2015. Still, the builder’s lobby has a vested interest with blessings from Government Authorities and Political leaders, destroyed the biodiversity, age-old medicinal plants and surrounding Environment of the area for their greed,” said CCF.
It said that in 2018, CCF raised the issue of the protection of hills and their biodiversity and had a mass protest over mercilessly cutting the medicinal trees and setting them on fire. More than 500 people attended to raise their voices against such destruction.
“Calangute-Candolim ODP 2025 was never in the interest of the Village Environment, and even now revised ODP prepared by the review committee is just an eye wash to the general public. Withdrawing the old ODP 2025, setting up the review committee to look into it and preparing a New ODP was just a political motive. There are no positive changes considered by the review committee But planned to damage other ecological balance of the coastal Environment and massive destruction of hills and fields,” CCF said.
The entire planning process was done without the application of a proper frame of mind and in a haphazard way to give good space for the developers, it stated.
“Assessment of climate change was never kept on priority during the process of planning although the entire world is facing hardship to sustain due to global warming. In case the coastal area is hit by natural calamities it will be only because of our irresponsible Authorities who have no interest in protecting the environment and planned the massive destruction of our hills and another coastal area,” it stated.
Although the strong warning from Dr Madhav Gadgil is loud and clear that after Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Goa is under threat to hit by Tsunami, our Government Authorities, Local MLA and other local Authorities are neglecting the facts. Stop the destruction of Hills.
