Team Herald
PANJIM: Objecting to the opening up of the Regional Plan 2021 (RP21), Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has alleged that the move for fresh public suggestions and comments is only to facilitate land conversion for mega projects in eco-zones cleared by the Investment Promotion Board (IPB).
GBA, that spearheaded the agitation against RP21 and forced the government to keep the plan in abeyance, has demanded protection for eco-zones and that the built-up allowance of FAR per village remains unchanged.
Addressing media persons, GBA convener Sabina Martins said that since 2001 the State is without a land development plan and hence developments are taking place in the interest of the government and building lobbies. “The entire move to open up the RP for fresh inputs is nothing but to give protection to the mega projects like Tiracol golf course and government’s Tuem electronic city. They want to covert the eco-zones to facilitate already approved projects in the RP,” she said.
“This act by the government shows disregard for people’s participation and is likely to favour investors who bought into the fraudulent RP21 as well as new entrants,” she added.
Martins pointed out that when the plan was last opened in 2011, the government had received 8500 suggestions, most of which were for change of personal land use to settlement. “Without proper guidelines, nor a committee of experts, on what basis will the Town and Country Planning Department favour one comment over another?” she asked.
She said that any changes to the RP will have no meaning as the IPB Act and the recent ordinance on eco-tourism, overrule RP21 and TCP Act.
GBA demanded that TCP constitute a committee representing a cross section of stakeholders, respected professionals and civil society members, to scrutinise the suggestions and their incorporation. They said that guidelines for suggestions and comments be made public, clearly informing against individual requests for change in land use, rather than for rectification or errors and public interest.
GBA has appealed to people to write to TCP for protection of eco-zones as a matter of public interest.
