PANAJI: Goa’s 105km coastline witnesses sand eroding during the monsoon every year and the same is restored once the rainfall ends. But whether or not the coastline is receding permanently in some stretches due to climatic and man-made factors is yet to be established by an official long-term study.The state government’s water resources department is now set to tie up with the National Institute of Oceanography ( NIO ), which will carry out a prolonged monitoring of Goa’s coast and determine its health, state officials said. The groundwork on the study is expected to begin next month.The study to be carried out will be funded by the Union ministry for water resources, where NIO will not only monitor Goa’s coast but also that of Maharashtra. The details of the research project are still to be worked out and is expected to be long-term endeavour.Some studies have been carried out by researchers privately which make contradicting claims. While some reports state that Goa’s coast is eroding, others say the state’s coastline is the most stable among various states and Union territories in the country.Last year, state water resources minister Vinod Palyekar said, in a reply tabled at the state assembly session, that around 19 beaches in Goa which stretch over 10km face threat of erosion.But earlier in 2015, an entirely different picture was painted by a study titles assessment of coastal erosion along the Indian coast on 1:25,000 scale using satellite data of 1989-1991 and 2004-2006 time frames, published in Current Science a fortnightly journal in collaboration with the Indian Academy of Science.The study had stated that Goa has the highest percentage (52.37%) of stable shoreline when compared to 11 maritime states and Union territories.

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