Following apprehensions raised by the people that the Port Authority proposed to be constituted under Major Port Authorities Bill may acquire their land shown within port limits under the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has recommended removal of port limit depiction from the plan. GCZMA during its meeting held on March 18 decided to recommend to the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) to remove the depiction of port limits from the draft CZMP 2011 before submitting it to the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA). “The Authority noted that it is not expressly specified in the guidelines to the CRZ Notification, 2011 that port limits should be depicted in the Draft CZMP,” state the minutes of meeting. NCSCM is of the view that as per the provision of the CRZ Notification the No Development Zone (NDZ) is not applicable within Port Limits. GCZMA at its meeting noted that NCSCM had sought notification of port limits from the Department of Environment and consequently, copies of notification of major port limits – Mormugao Port Trust including Betul, and of minor ports Panjim, Chapora, Tiracol, Sal and Talpona – were provided.
“NCSCM has shown the Port Limits in the draft CZMP maps and major and minor ports have both been provided a single colour code thereby creating confusion and doubt among the general public that all the area shown under port limits is major port ie MPT,” the Authority noted. “Numerous objections and suggestions have been received from the general public on this issue, including apprehensions that the Port Authority proposed to be constituted under Major Port Authorities Bill may acquire their land shown within port limits. Some local bodies have also expressed apprehensions regarding dilution or overlapping of their jurisdictions,” it pointed out further. Former GCZMA member and NIO scientist Dr Antonio Mascarenhas in an article on Herald, had said that since Mormugao is a major sea port, the draft CZMP 2021 specifies that large areas along the sea front and within the saline rivers will henceforth come under the jurisdiction of the port authority. As such, from Aguada to Cansaulim, and from Varca to Loliem in the south, the sea front will hereafter “belong” to and be classified as the property of Mormugao port. He had said that Raj Bhavan, Miramar beach, Mandovi river banks up to the tidal flats of Chorao beyond the bridge will be controlled by the port. In the Zuari river, the sea side slopes of Dona Paula including parts of NIO property, Siridao beach, areas upstream of the bridge, Cortalim, Sancoale, Chicalim bays, as is the case of Khariwado fishing enclave, the Sao Jacinto island would in totality fall under the purview of the port. The NDZ of Baina beach and the adjacent rocky cliffs are almost entirely under port limits. The Velsao-Cansaulim-Arossim coast, a linear strip of about 50 metres in width over the dune fields of the entire region is shown as limits of the port control.