Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that his government will write letter to local MLAs and seek their suggestions and objections on the villages identified falling in Eco sensitive areas on the western ghats.
“We’ll send out a notice to the panchayats in the impacted villages. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated, “We will also write a letter to local MLAs and ask for their suggestions and objections regarding the villages identified falling in the eco-sensitive areas of the Western Ghats.”
He claims that there are still forty days to submit comments and complaints on the draft notification.
“After getting input from the local MLAs and village panchayats, we will bring up the issue with the Union government for action,” he continued.
Sawant said that there is no need to panic on the fresh draft notification to declare over 56,800 square kilometers of the Western Ghats across six states, including 108 villages in Goa as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
Sawant said that it is just a draft and all stakeholders and MLAs will be taken into confidence while preparing State suggestions and objections.
“We have to preserve our Environment and also livelihood. Declaring ESA is also necessary; will see that traditional business or reconstruction of houses will have no impact,” said CM
“People shouldn’t panic about the issue,” he stated. This notification is a draft and not the final version. We will prepare ideas and objections with the locals and MLAs in confidence, and we will work to ensure that the greatest number of communities are removed from the list.
“We must protect both our livelihood and the environment. It’s also essential to declare ESA. We’ll make sure that regular business operations and home reconstruction are unaffected,” he stated.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) has designated 108 villages in Goa, which are dispersed over 1,461 kilometres of the Western Ghats, as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in its sixth draft notice, which was published on July 31, 2024. North Goa contains 64 of the 108 villages, while South Goa has 44.
