Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: Goa govt has issued a draft notification announcing 1,36,840 sq mtr Zuari lake located in village Sancoale of Mormugao Taluka as wetland.
Approximately 10 lakh sq mtr area in Mormugao/Sancolae comes under the zone of influence of the lake.
Any person interested in making any objection or suggestion, on the proposals contained in the draft notification have been asked to forward the same in writing, for consideration of the Government of Goa within the period sixty days to the Member Secretary, Goa State Biodiversity Board, Head of Nodal Agency, Goa State Wetland Authority, or at the email address ms-gswa.goa@gov.in.
According to the draft notification, once an area is declared a wetland, extraction of sand or mud for commercial purposes would be strictly prohibited. Currently, sand mining activities are banned in Goa while illegal sand extraction activities are rampant.
According to the draft notification, the lake is considered to be critically significant for its ecosystem services and biodiversity values for the local communities and society at large.
“It is considered that for sustaining these values, the ecological character of the wetland ecosystem needs to be maintained by regulating developmental activities within the wetland as well as within its zone of influence; and prohibiting activities,” the notification stated.
