PANJIM, May 1 -- In a significant push to rein in unchecked riverbank development, the Goa Forest Department has identified 6,729.54 hectares of land along the Mandovi and Zuari rivers as ecologically sensitive, formally flagging the stretches for protection particularly against mangrove destruction.

The delineation, covering both riverbanks, has been submitted to the Town and Country Plan ning (TCP) Department, with authorities urging im mediate regulatory action to prevent further ecological degradation in these vulnerable zones.

"It is submitted that the Forest Department has undertaken the exercise of identification and de-lineation of ecologically vulnerable areas along the banks of the major rivers of Goa, namely the Mandovi and Z...