TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: The Regional Plan passed by Town and Country Planning Board and circulars issued thereafter, are a means to help builders get roads widened through the legal channel, members of Pilerne Citizens Forum, which has been leading the agitation against the plan, said.

Addressing a press conference, Paul Fernandes of PCF said that the advertisement released in the newspapers, and subsequent circulars allowing constructions based on proposed roads widths, as well as acquisition of land were all indicative of things to come.

The government issues an advertisement in the paper saying it will not demolish houses, and that new developers will have to keep the necessary setback. Next, they issue an amendment to the Regulation Note, saying that buildings can be built based on proposed roads widths subject to a minimum of six metres on the ground for multi family dwelling units. Finally, at a Town and Country Planning Board meeting they say that the department could take up acquisition of land for the roads and that the department (TCP) already has a separate plan scheme in the budget for ODP roads wherein funds are available, which is required to be enhanced and extended to RP roads if such proposals are to be taken up by the department,” Fernandes said.

“How can they say they are not going to demolish houses when they have already made budgetary provision for acquisition of land? Besides based on all these circulars, all these builders who get subsequent permission, will approach the High Court and petition that the roads be widened. Then what will happen?” Fernandes asked.

Prakash Bandodkar president of the Forum challenged Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar to ensure that the plan is corrected by keeping it in abeyance.

“Let Parrikar take a whole year and do the corrections. Nowhere in his statement he has used the word notification. Let him tell us how he plans to make corrections without denotification,” Bandodkar said, adding that BJP MLAs too were on the TCP Board that approved the Regional Plan.