NT Reporter
Panaji
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Western Zone Bench, has upheld
the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority’s (GCZMA) approval for strengthening and renovating the existing bund between Nerul Bridge and Caculo House in Candolim.
It dismissed allegations that the project violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and caused destruction of mangroves.
The Tribunal said the work was being carried out in accordance with statutory approvals and found no evidence of environmental violations by the Water Resources Department (WRD).
The appeal was filed by the Calangute Constituency Forum, which alleged that the WRD widened the traditional 3.5-metre bund to between six and eight metres through large-scale land filling, destroying mangroves and affecting river biodiversity.
The appellant also alleged that the construction of concrete retaining
walls violated the Environment (Protection) Act, CRZ-IA regulations and conditions imposed by the GCZMA, while facilitating future vehicular access to benefit private real estate development.
Rejecting these contentions, the Tribunal said that the project had received all mandatory approvals.
The Tribunal said that
inspection reports prepared before the project began showed that sections of
the bund near the bridge were already around
10 metres wide.
It also referred to the Goa State Biodiversity Board’s (GSBB) findings that breaches in the
bund had allowed saline water to inundate khazan lands, resulting in the spread of mangroves into cultivable fields.
The Bench further said that the GCZMA had imposed safeguards, including prohibiting vehicular access on the bund, restricting entry through staircases, maintaining sluice gates, carrying out mangrove plantation in consultation with the GSBB, using permeable paver blocks to reduce surface runoff
and installing solar-powered lighting.
It said that reducing the width of the bund at this stage could destabilise the structure and affect the surrounding ecosystem.
The WRD said the project was undertaken to strengthen an embankment that had suffered repeated breaches, allowing tidal waters to flood agricultural fields. It said the walkway was intended only for pedestrians, with operational sluice gates preventing vehicular movement. The department also said it would undertake mangrove plantation and biodiversity restoration in consultation with the GSBB.
