The Department of Tourism — or the agency to whom it had leased the land for 15 years — has begun work on the plot ad jacent to the Panjim–Betim ferry ramp, an area that was once a park frequented by locals, without securing permission either from the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court or the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA), leaving citizens of the capital city in disbelief. Work in Chalta No 2 of PTS 7 of Panjim city, now completely blocked off with metal sheets, is progressing at a hectic pace. The walls where citizens once leaned to watch fish swim by have been demolished, and no signage explains the activ ity underway. Across the fenced perimeter, there is no board indicating the na ture of the ongoing work. The only indication that the Department of Tourism — or an agency shortlisted by it — is responsible comes from an RTI reply from the NGPDA. “Yes,” the NGPDA replied when asked whether it had received an application for development permission for any project planned by the Tourism Department or any agency/project proponent of the Tourism Department or the Goa Tourism Infrastructure De velopment Corporation in the recreational land zoned under Chalta No 2 of PTS 7 in the Panjim ODP. And ‘No’ was the reply when asked if any devel opment permission had been granted.
Shockingly, in the same RTI response, the NGPDA reiterated that no permis sion had been issued, leav ing Panjim residents — al ready burdened by Smart City works — bewildered. “The Department of Tour ism seems to be trying to build something on what was once a park for us lo cals,” said Vasco Pimenta, who has since moved from the city to the hinterland. Senior citizen Alvaro Misquita recalled a time when a company from Spain had made a presentation on beauti fying the riverfront. “Whatever little is left, the Department of Tourism appears keen on finishing,” he said. The area currently under construction was, years ago, a popular park frequented by nature lovers and roman tics — until part of it was leased to the owners of one of Panjim’s first high-end hotels. “Hotel Mandovi had set up a nice eat-out which was affordable to all, and at times they organised cultural events. Things changed once the hotel shut down, and now, sadly, the place has become in accessible to us,” admitted Jose Colaco, who once used the spot for fishing. The land — where work is ongoing despite the absence of required permissions — is marked as recreational in the Panjim ODPs of 2011, 2021 and the draft ODP 2031. Under TCP regulations, only five per cent of land designat ed as recreational can be used as built-up area.
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The scale of work observed over the past week appears far beyond that limit. In PIL Writ Petition No 10 of 2019 with LD-VC-66-2020, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court had ordered that the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority must not entertain or process any applications based on ODP 2021. For specified government projects concerning public utilities, the Authority was permitted to seek varia tion applications, to be considered on merit. Since petition ers did not oppose ODP 2011, the Authority was allowed to process applications under that plan. Panjimites are now questioning how authorities allowed work to begin without NGPDA permission or High Court approval. Sources told O Heraldo that the government had approached the High Court earlier seeking permission for a cyclone shelter and the ropeway project — and had ob tained approval for both. Officials of the Tourism Department chose not to com ment, though sources cautiously suggested that “some sort of structure to accommodate a big volume of crowd was coming up” at the site, where labourers continue working at full pace. With the NGPDA affirming through RTI that no develop ment permission has been granted, and sources indicating that no request has been placed before the High Court, questions continue to rise — even as the tide ebbs on the Mandovi — about how the laws of the land can be disre garded for the benefit of a few
