MARGAO: Even as Goa is set to have 17 notified Wetlands, given the developments at the Bondvol wetland in Calapur the question arises whether water bodies are really safe in present times where avarice rules everything.
It may be recalled that on November 25 residents of St Cruz woke up to a rude shock to see the till previous day filled to brim Bondvol Lake totally dry and the reason for this was said to be a mischief played by someone who opened the sluice gates of the lake to let the water runoff.
An occurrence of this nature is next to impossible in a notified wetland. Yet the authorities have not been able to even identify the person responsible for it leave alone take any action against the person
Goa already has 15 notified wetlands and two more are set to join the list as not a single objection was filed to the proposal to notify Lamgao Lake and Lagoa de Cima or Oilem Tollem in Chandor as wetlands.
The Grievance Committee will go through all the suggestions, objections and endorsements filed before the Goa State Wetlands Authority (GSWA) and then give its recommendations.
However, as there are no objections filed with regard to the two lakes, they will be declared as Wetlands after following the due process, opined Dr Pradip Sarmokadam, Member Secretary of GSWA.
The Grievance Committee of 10 members is presently going through people’s reaction to the proposals to declare 19 lakes as Wetland.
The Grievance Committee has retired District Judge Desmond D’Costa as the Chairperson. Dr Sarmokadam is the Co-Chairperson as Member Secretary of Goa State Wetland Authority and Convener as Member Secretary of the Goa State Biodiversity Board.
Representatives of the Water Resources Department, Revenue Department, North Goa Collectorate, South Goa Collectorate, Directorate of Panchayats and Directorate of Municipal Administration are ex-officio members of the Committee while Adv Sapana Mordekar is a member.
“While the purpose of declaring a lake as wetland is to protect it and its biodiversity, people have become over greedy and want to construct houses even touching the water body,” said a member of the Committee speaking on condition of anonymity.
As far as the notification dated September 28, 2023 regarding nine new lakes, Raia gram sabha on November 26 vehemently opposed declaring Bacbhatt and Bebki Lakes from their village as Wetlands.
Besides, local MLA Aleixo Lourenco has also filed his objections and it is learnt that even South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha had called up the GSWA to express his reservations.
Similarly, a special Gram Sabha of Benaulim held on October 28 while welcoming the proposal to declare Kamala Tollem as Wetland strongly objected to the demarcation of Buffer Zone.
The same scenario was repeated at Cortalim at a special meeting held on October 28 by the Panchayat with the owners of the houses that exist in the proposed Buffer Zone of Vodle-Dhakte Lake that is sought to be declared a Wetland.
Cortalim Sarpanch Senia Pereira while pointing out that there are around 100 houses in the Buffer Zone said the interest of these people have to be protected.
“It is not that we want to impose Wetland on the people though our intent is only to protect the biodiversity including the fish in these lakes,” said Dr Sarmokadam while pointing out that they have even given extensions to some people whenever they have sought it to file their objections.
It would be relevant to point out that draft notifications to declare 17 lakes as Wetlands was published on March 31, 2023 while draft notification to declare Udden lake in Shiroda and Panchami Lake in Candepar was published on October 30, 2022 and the final notification for these lakes is not yet published.
The draft notification published on March 31, 2023 pertained to the following lakes: Adsule, Manali, Dhakte or Diuler, Ita and Vodle all in Benaulim; Macasana lake, Orlim lake, Sapu Tollem in Ambelim, Telaulim lake in Wadi-Telaulim, Karmale lake and Betal Lake in Querim; Dhulpe lake in Shiroda, Bandolem lake in Sancoale, Kodal lake and Kalamwada lake in Carapur, Maem lake and Parra lake.