Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: According to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the state administration has suggested to the expert committee that 21 villages be taken off the state’s list of eco-sensitive areas (ESAs).
To evaluate the situation on the ground, a 10-member expert group headed by Dr. Sanjay Kumar will begin visiting these areas on Wednesday.
Sawant met with the committee in Panaji on Tuesday night, accompanied by Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar, Environment Minister Aleixo Sequiera, and other authorities.
According to Sawant, villages from Sattari to Canacona are included in the government’s recommendation.
Before deciding whether to remove these settlements from the ESA list, the committee will carry out a thorough field inspection, he stated.
In a previous draft notification, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change identified 108 Goan villages as eco-sensitive locations in the Western Ghats.
In response, a 16-member eco-sensitive zone monitoring committee (SESZMC) was established by the state government last year to supervise the matter for a year.
The chief secretary chairs the committee, which is made up of delegates from Goa University, the Goa State Pollution Control Board, the Ministry of Environment, and other regional environmental groups, such as Parshuram Grameen Vikas and the Nisarga Nature Club.
