Panaji: Goa government today filed an application before National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking further six months time, till February 29, 2020 to make necessary correction, finalize and submit Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) to Union Ministry of Environemnt, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC).
NGT had asked Goa to submit its coastal plan by August 31.
Director Environment Johnson Fernandes has filed the application seeking extension in time.
Applicant has stated that the the time requested is for the correction of the draft CZMP, 2011 prepared by Chennai agency National Center for Sustainable Coastal Managment (NCSCM) and to carry out public consultation on the plan.
Fernandes has said that the delay in submission of the CZMP to the MOEF&CC is neither deliberate nor willful but circumstantial.
The applicant informed tribunal that the department of environment has recieved letters from around 100 village panchayats and about 169 representations from NGOs and civil society groups, private individuals, etc regarding scrapping of the draft CZMP.
