Team Herald
PANJIM: More than a year after its appointed committee zeroed upon 93 temporary structure operators for environmental damage in violations of coastal zone regulations (CRZ) along the turtle nesting beaches, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has till date managed to recover environmental compensation from only five violators. Interestingly, there are 148 more such illegal structures whose detailed analysis of compensation is yet to be assessed.
Goa Paryavaran Savrakshan Sangharsh Samitee had approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking action against the temporary structures constructed along the turtle nesting beaches of Morjim, Mandrem in North Goa and Galgibag and Agonda in South and imposing penalty towards environmental compensation.
The NGT via two separate orders in October and December 2021 had directed GCZMA to assess the environmental damage caused and to recover the appropriate compensation from the violators.
Accordingly, the GCZMA during its meeting in February formed a three-member committee comprising Savio Correia, Sujeetkumar Dongre and Pranoy Boudhya to calculate the compensation. The committee noted that environmental compensation works out to be Rs 2,59,6174 crore, per hectare per year, which translates to Rs 2,590 per sq mt per year and the report was accepted by GCZMA in March 2022.
As per GCZMA, there were 136 violation matters in the North and 105 matters in the South totaling to a sum of 241 cases, identified for recovery of environmental compensation.
The three-member committee prepared detailed analysis in 93 cases , 50 cases pertained to North Goa and 43 cases pertained to South Goa.
“Out of these 93 matters, complete environmental compensation has been recovered in five cases- four in North and one in South,” the Authority informed during its meeting held last week.
Further, in 39 matters- 27 in North and 12 in South- objections have been filed against the directions for recovery of compensation amount, wherein some of the violators have alleged that since they have already made payments towards penalties levied on them by the Authority, they are not obliged to pay the present compensation. The Authority has decided to issue letters to the violators clarifying on penalties.
“In the remaining 49 matters- 19 in North and 30 in South, we will initiate action in recovery of the amount from the violators,” the Authority resolved.
Since the term of the three-member committee expired, the Authority decided to constitute a fresh committee to assess and calculate the environmental compensation in the remaining 148 cases within a time frame of 30 days and subsequently to issue directions under Section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986.
The cases of violation on the turtle nesting beaches include alteration of natural landscape, erection of temporary or permanent structures, landscaping by removing native vegetation, flattening of sand dunes, and change in native vegetation composition, construction of swimming pool, sound and light pollution among others.