Margao: The opposition to the controversial draft coastal zone management plan continues with Assolna village being the latest to outright discard the plan and demanded that a public hearing be held in the village.

In a strongly worded letter to the member secretary of the Goa coastal zone management authority, the sarpanch Xavier Almeida said the village panchayat along with its villagers have outrightly rejected and discarded the plan for necessary correction.

He pointed out that the panchayat through its appointed committee had prepared the CZMP plan based on the inputs from the fishing community, experienced citizens and stakeholders after undertaking site inspection and the same was approved by the gram sabha however none of the suggestions were incorporated in the new draft plan.

The letter further pointed out that religious structures such as Regina Martyrum church, Assolna, 3 cemeteries, (2 Catholic and one Hindu) St Peter festivals celebratory locations, fishermen housing, fishing ramps etc were found missing while the hazard line has also been wrongly marked. Also the sand dunes, mangroves, and storm water drains have been wrongly marked in the new plan.

The panchayat demanded that the scheduled hearing on March 7 be rescheduled and instead the same be held at panchayat level so as to understand the proposed plan and take inputs of the suggestions and objections of the people.

The villagers also rejected the port at Betul along with the authority of Mormugao port trust of central government in River Sal and its adjoining areas. They also demanded the demarcation of each coastal structure besides re-drafting the buffer zone and mangroves adding that the villagers are very concerned over the fragile ecosystems which include shellfish and fish breeding which have been omitted from the plan and also demanded not to grant any more permissions for any use of the riverine land.