Govt moves ahead with wetland boundary demarcation

Panaji: The state cabinet on Wednesday approved digital validation, ground truthing, physical delineation and the installation of demarcation stones for notified wetlands in Goa. State govt has also sought an additional six months from the Supreme Court to complete the physical and boundary demarcation process in areas where practical difficulties persist.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the cabinet sanctioned Rs 40 lakh to the Goa State Wetland Authority (GSWA) to undertake the work in compliance with Supreme Court directions.

Based on recommendations made by the GSWA from time to time, state govt has issued final notifications for 25 wetlands in Goa, while several others are in the process of being notified.

At its 19th meeting in Nov 2025, GSWA approved the appointment of a specialised agency selected through the e-tendering process. Following administrative approval, a letter of intent was issued to the vendor and work commenced. The first set of high-resolution drone images submitted by the agency has already been approved by the GSWA technical committee.

GSWA has completed ground truthing and digital validation of wetlands, and the data has been uploaded to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) portal. Boundary details of the 25 notified wetlands have also been uploaded.

“That upon considering the practical difficulty on the ground, inaccessibility to some areas, growth of vegetation and the time required to complete the necessary work of boundary demarcation on the ground, it is requested to the Supreme Court to grant further time of six months to complete the process of physical, boundary demarcation,” the cabinet said.

The Supreme Court had directed all state and union territory wetland authorities to complete ground truthing and demarcation of wetlands identified in the space applications centre (SAC) Atlas, 2021, within three months from Dec 11, 2024.

Following the court's directions, the GSWA floated a tender with a focus on precise, verifiable and accessible mapping and documentation of wetland boundaries using drone and GIS technology, along with the creation of a smart interactive digital mapping platform.

“Since the selected agency is a private party, for the purpose of additional validation, it was directed and approved by the chairperson of GSWA in its 19th meeting, that an overseeing committee may be constituted to further authenticate and validate the work carried out by Turbosketch CAD Operations.”

According to the GSWA, the SAC Atlas reported 550 wetlands in Goa in 2009. The 2024 SAC report lists 742 wetlands, a figure the authority has contested, stating that many of the identified water bodies do not meet the definition of a wetland.