Uncontrollable illegal construction along the coastline could mar tourism in Goa: Study

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Bardez and Pernem, the two coastal sub districts of Goa are the powerhouses when it comes to beach tourism. Both of them are fighting hard against rampant illegal construction along the coastline, even in no-development zone. These constructions will convey an ill message for the tourism industry of Goa, a study has revealed.

The study carried out by the Geography department of Government College Khandola, informs that infringement in sensitive coastal areas would cause concretisation of the sea-fronted areas of Goa, destroying tourism along with the scenic beauty, which is the tourist state’s calling card.

“The study on the coastline of beaches of North Goa depicts great violation in terms of the recent Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). In the name of boosting tourism, the CRZ will be highly violated wherein the public land will be captured by the stakeholders. The No Development Zone (NDZ) in the coastal areas will go under construction,” the study states.
“Tourists visit Goa for its beauty and open space where land meets the sea. If these spaces are taken over, tourism industry which survives on natural beauty will be at stake as beaches will be already crowded. Neither tourists, nor locals will have proper access to the beaches. The scenic beauty of the beaches will be lost,” it adds.

The study was conducted on the basis of Google Earth imagery which was utilized to measure development activity in the CRZ and NDZ areas in Pernem and Bardez, states that built-up areas in both the environmentally sensitive zones have increased significantly since 1991, when the Coastal Regulation Zone norms were introduced.

“The built-up has increased from 19.6 percent to 40.3 percent, from 1991 to 2019 within the 500 mts (CRZ) buffer. The built-up has increased from 15.12 percent to 36.79 percent within the 200 mts (NDZ) buffer from 2012 to 2019. This includes permanent residential houses, resorts and temporary shacks,” the study carried out by Lisha Fernandes, Dr Pravina Kerkar, Siddhi Gaonkar of the government college states in its analysis of developments in coastal Pernem sub district areas.

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