Margao, May 2 (TNN): Acting on the complaint filed by the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum, the science, technology and environment department has ordered the tourism department to restore a portion of Colva beach that was recently excavated.
The excavation took place shortly before the polls on April 12, to conduct soil testing prior to constructing changing rooms/toilets. The facilities are part of the Colva circuit development plan that aims to develop tourism-affiliated infrastructure and facilities at Colva, Betalbatim and Benaulim beaches.
Srinet Kotwale, director, science, technology and environment, earlier this week ordered the work to be stopped and the beach to be restored. He further ordered that the Colva creek be cleaned of sand that may have found its way into the water body during the excavation.
By Thursday, work to restore the excavated portion of the beach was under way.
Drawing parallels with the Goa tourism development corporation's plans at Vagator, which have earned the ire of the national green tribunal (NGT), Colva locals alleged that the tourism department's Colva circuit development plan also violates the coastal regulation zone (CRZ).
They further claimed that the department was carrying out construction activity without permission from the Goa coastal zone management authority (GCZMA). The construction of a tower-cum-restaurant is under way by the side of the Sulabh Sauchalaya near the beach.
Local activist Judith Almeida pointed out that the construction is within 200m of the high tide line and is therefore in a no-development zone (NDZ). She further claimed the changing rooms/toilets too would come up in the NDZ. "We are not against the changing rooms, but we are opposed to permanent structures in NDZ," she said.
Noting the order to restore the excavated portion of the beach, she questioned why no order had been passed to replant the three coconut trees that were also cut. The Colva circuit project aims to boost tourism in this southern stretch of Goa's coastline by offering facilities like toilets, changing rooms, gardens, parking areas, restaurants and by improving illumination of the beaches.