TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The 52nd meeting of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) scheduled on November 25 has come under the scanner of the opposition MLAs as well as general citizens.
For, the SGPDA will be discussing and taking a call on the fate of 20-odd housing projects across the length and breadth of Margao and Fatorda. Some of these housing projects are proposed on land admeasuring 5000 sq mts and beyond. A glance at the SGPDA proposal before the members, suggests that an area admeasuring over 30,000 sq mts has been proposed for development.
Remarks put up by the PDA on the files indicate that the Authority has recommended grant of development permissions in some cases, while leaving the remaining proposals to be decided at the meeting. Incidentally, the SGPDA arranged inspections of the proposed constructions sites on Thursday and Friday for members to take into account the ground reality and offer their suggestions and objections.
Sources in the know said that both Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai have raised eyebrows over the number of proposals submitted by the PDA for the Authority meeting. Vijai, who joined the inspections on Thursday morning, said that the PDA should ensure that the builders comply strictly with the parking and other norms. “Parking is a major problem facing the Commercial Capital today. There ought to be no compromises on this front. I am surprised that so many construction projects are coming up in my Fatorda constituency. I want to make it known to the PDA as well as the builders that they will have to comply strictly with the construction norms. When someone is developing an area beyond 5000 sq mts, you have to take special care to ensure that all norms, including parking are complied with both in letter and in spirit,” Vijai asserted.
