Goa, May 16 -- The Town and Country Planning Department will notify nearly 13,000 survey numbers containing mangroves as No Development Zone (NDZ) areas in a major move aimed at protecting Goa's ecologically sensitive regions.

Announcing the decision, Vishwajit Rane said the identified survey numbers will receive NDZ protection to prevent construction and other developmental activities in mangrove zones.

The proposed protection will include environmentally sensitive mangrove belts in areas such as Santa Cruz, Calapur, and the surroundings of Old Goa Church.

According to Rane, Goa has nearly 1 crore square metres of mangrove cover spread across the state. He said the decision has been taken to safeguard fragile ecosystems and ensure tha...