NT Reporter | Panaji
Backing traditional fishermen in the state in their complaint against jetties encroaching on fish breeding sites, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to take immediate action against six jetties operating without permission in the Mandovi river.
The green tribunal during a hearing on November 12 pointed out that GCZMA granted clearance to only three jetties out of nine jetties in the river, which means “six jetties are not having any kind of permission and yet operating”.
Looking into the functioning of every jetty, the tribunal ordered GCZMA to furnish information on all jetties in the state within six weeks’ time.
It observed that the Authority in its affidavit divulged information on the jetties in the Mandovi – those with and without permission. But GCZMA remained silent on the action taken against the unauthorised jetties.
The western zonal bench comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Dr Sujit Kumar pulled up the Chief Conservator of Forests and the Chief Secretary of Goa for not replying to the petition filed by the traditional fishermen. “Despite our directions to file a reply during an order dated August 28, this year, the same has not been filed till date,” said the green court, while giving three weeks to submit the reply by way of “last opportunity”.
The next hearing date on the matter is January 22, 2026.
A petition filed in the NGT by Dikshay Dattu Phadte and others in May 2025 had sought the closure of illegal jetties along the Britona-Ekoxim stretch of the Mandovi for operating in ecologically sensitive zones and having an adverse impact on the livelihood of fishermen in villages on the river-shore.
The petitioners named the state government, the Captain of Ports, the National Coastal Zone Management Authority, among others as respondents. The complaint said the private jetties along the river in CRZ areas are used for berthing yachts, private boats and tourism purposes; jetties are allowed in CRZ areas only if it is for industrial activity, defence or security purposes or for essential projects.
