Goemkarponn Desk
Panaji: Aam Aadmi Party today demanded that the public hearing on the Coastal Zone Management Plan scheduled for 7th March be postponed due to various issues and also demanded that Goa be exempted from the purview of the Major Port Act being a small state.
AAP Goa convener Rahul Mhambre today said having the public hearing on CZMP on 7th March even as Covid cases are increasing in the State would be putting the lives of people at risk and hence demanded that the hearing be postponed to a latter date.
Besides, he argued that some of the panchayats have not yet received the CZMP and hence cannot comment on it at all and further pointed out that most people cannot read the maps and need time to study the maps and understand them.
“If the government is really serious about having people’s participation in the process, then people have to be given time to understand the maps besides being explained what the maps state,” he said while demanding that the public hearings could be held at taluka level instead of district level.
He pointed out that people all over Goa have been raising concerns about the CZMP as there are many discrepancies in it and hence demanded that more time be given to people to study the plans properly.
He also demanded that the centre pass an amendment to the Major Port Act excluding Goa from its purview for the simple reason that Goa is a small state and further lamented that none of the Goan MPs said anything about the Major Port Act in the parliament.
“Goa’s viewpoint and the impact of the Act on the tiny state was never highlighted in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha when the bill was discussed and hence Goa should be exempted from the purview of the Act,” he said.
He demanded that the Goa State Assembly during its budget session to be held shortly, adopt a resolution asking the centre to make the amendment excluding Goa from the purview of the Major Port Act.