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PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the House on Friday that the process of drafting the new Regional Plan 2021 would begin only after April, by taking all stakeholders into confidence, after the mining issue is sorted out. He, however, said there would be no need for a full consultative procedure.
Explaining that since the state is already reeling under the mining crises at the moment, Parrikar said he was not willing to get into another controversy and was hoping that he could begin the RP 2021 exercise once the mining issue subsides.
“Whatever is fit from the Regional Plan of 2001, and previously notified Regional Plan 2021 and restrictive in nature is being permitted,” he said, replying to queries from Valpoi legislator, Vishwajit Rane who raised the matter during Question Hour on Friday. Parrikar however, clarified that Regional Plan 2021 was not denotified.
Speaking on the consultative process, he said, “There are some areas in the RP 2021 which are good and would be retained and technical experts would be appointed to study it,” adding that the consultative process with village panchayats on the new RP 2021 would be limited.
Questionable aspects will be reframed, he disclosed.
Asked to give a time frame on the completion of the new plan as development had come to a standstill and projects were pending due to uncertainty, Parrikar said he would be able to start the process only after the Budget Session of the Goa legislature concludes in April. He also said all legislators would get a full briefing on the issue before it is placed before the house.
Parrikar was also persuaded to retain all areas previously declared as settlement. “If areas have been previously declared as settlement there is no reason why they should be changed back to agriculture,” he said.
The chief minister also took objection to the objections raised by various sections over the opening of the Panjim ODP (Outline Development Plan) explaining that there were certain technical errors that needed to be corrected and insisted that the ODP had not been kept open in any way for conversions.
