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The Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that a total of 50 wetlands have been identified in the state, out of which 15 wetlands have been notified and the process of identification and notification of the remaining wetlands is on and the process is expected to take two years.
The petitioner, Kashinath Shetye, had approached the tribunal and sought that a direction be issued to the state wetland authority “to conduct a survey to identify the wetlands and declare all lakes/tollems/reservoirs/tollexet, including marsh, fen, peat-land or water, natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salty, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres and including all inland waters such as lakes, reservoir, tanks, backwaters, lagoons, creeks, estuaries and man-made wetlands and the zone of direct influence on wetlands that is to say the drainage area or catchment region of the wetlands as ‘Wetland sites’ under Wetland Rules under the Environment Protection Act, 1986”.
The petitioner also sought orders for removal of encroachments by demolishing illegal construction and development activities around the wetland areas.
Shetye disputed the number of wetlands identified by the GSWA, referring to an earlier affidavit filed by the state of Goa before the tribunal, which mentioned that 385 wetlands have been delineated which have an area of more than five hectare and 167 wetlands which are less than 2.25 hectare, thus totalling to 550 wetlands in the state covering an area of 213.77 sq km.
In its quarterly progress report before the tribunal, the GSWA submitted that the empanelled agency, National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), carries out the work of survey, preparation of brief documents, Integrated Management Plan and related maps of the water bodies and also ascertains the existence of structures therein.
“The brief documents are submitted to the technical committee of the GSWA, which reviews those documents, and management plans and advises on the technical matters referred by the GSWA. After such verification, the technical committee identifies the water bodies as wetlands and sends a proposal to GSWA for approval. After the waterbody is identified as a wetland, it is presented before the answering authority for deliberation and approval of the wetlands,” the GSWA submitted in its report before the tribunal.
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