Goemkarponn Desk
Vasco: The residents of Sao Jacinto Island, falling in the jurisdiction of Chicalim expressed shock and surprise over the Coastal Zone Management Plan 2021 prepared in accordance with CAZ 2011, that has been put on display at the village Panchayat of Chicalim
The residents said that the scrutiny of the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan 2021 received from the government shows glaring discrepancies, specially that the houses of the villagers, mostly belonging to the fishing community have not been shown in the plan.
This is contrary what the government had assured to the people while preparing the draft in 2019 that all houses will be shown when the final draft will be put up for scrutiny prior finalizing.
Moreover, the depiction of the island having been shown as under Port Limits of Mormugao Port Trust came as a rude shock, as this could be an ulterior motive on the part of the government to lay the foundation of an evil and malafide plan to evict the villagers under the garb of CZMP and hand over the village to MPT and thereafter to real estate lobby in the near future.
“We sometimes wonder whether Island has been earmarked authorities for handing over to the casino lobby, to whom they our are very favourable, even waving off about 278 crores that were due from the casinos to the government in the form of taxes. And with the Parliament having passed the Major Ports Authority bill 2020, wherein MPT has been bestowed with enormous powers, which even supersede the existing rules and regulations of the local bodies, Planning department and even the state laws, we are worried that we may be evicted from our own island,” they said.
The Islanders also told the press that studies carried out by government and allied agencies have proved that the waters around the Island is a hot spot of marine biodiversity.
The villagers also said that during the Gram Sabha that was held Aug 2019 to discuss and prepare the Coastal Zone Management Plan 2021, the villagers had unanimously passed resolution incorporating protection the Island and the coast including protection to the rich marine biodiversity, specially the window pane oysters, clams (Tisreos), crabs, various species of fishes, etc.
“It is pertinent to note that the families belong to fishermen community and have been living since generations, some tracing back to six generations. Their houses numbering about 200 with some having collapsed with time but still visible as ruins, had been allotted house numbers long time back and they have been paying taxes since decades, as well as water and electricity bills. They further brought out that some structures on the Island including a Chapel is very old and dates back to 1731 and hence should be declared as a heritage structure,” they say.
The villagers, specially the youth resolved to protect and preserve their island where their ancestors have lived since centuries and never to allow such destructive plans to materialize and will stand united to oppose any idea to hand over the Island to real estate forces or the casino lobby via the MPT route.
“Hence, to assure us that there is no ulterior plan on the par of the authorities, as a first step of confidence building, we demand the removal of the MPT jurisdiction shown on the plan and display of our houses and other structures,” they said.
