While industrial, institutional and vocational training projects, which create jobs, may well be a part of the mandate of the Investment Promotion Board, the number of resorts, villas and massive so-called eco-projects which are slipping in, under the umbrella of “investment” projects is alarming.
There is simply a limit to which zoning of land decided by the Regional Plan of 2021 as well as RP 2001, which acts as the base since RP 2021 is on hold, can be changed with impunity and in a manner absolutely rampant. This change of zoning, from land which falls under orchard, paddy fields and also in no development slopes, where massive construction of hotels and resorts cannot take place, is exactly what the developers are looking at from the IPB. In the absence of the IPB, most of these areas would be no go areas for construction. Most of them are in zones where such projects cannot take place, under the Regional Plan of 2021 and /or the Regional Plan of 2001, which according to the norms set have to be taken into account.
A 116-room/villa resort project “Palacio da Juvem” has been proposed in St Estevam. In the 2001 Regional Plan and most of this land was partly orchard while close to 6000 square meters were marked as orchard land in RP 2001 and paddy fields in 2021. An Eco resort in Pale, Quepem is coming up on land marked as natural cover in RP 2001 and an orchard zone in RP 2021. A proposed resort in Varca is partly within the 0-200 meter High Tide Line and is partly in an orchard and partly settlement zone.
A “hospitality project” in Talaulim over 1,42, 100 square meters, was marked as partly orchard and partly under settlement in RP 2001 and party under orchard and party under a “no development slopes’ in RP 2021. That too awaits IPB clearance.
These are just few of the examples of projects on the anvil, details of which, not yet officially disclosed, was made available to Herald.
In a spate of clearing projects, the government needs to assess if it needs so many resorts in eco-sensitive areas, by violating zoning patterns and changing them. It must also evaluate the kind of projects which it should consider. For instance a proposal for a sports retail store in Goa Velha is also before the IPB, with the sole purpose of getting the land use changed from settlement to commercial. It is critical for the IPB to study its mandate and assess if the need to bring in investments need to be at this cost. And should the IPB be reduced to a zone changing body?
With the code of conduct for the forthcoming Assembly elections to be place in about three months, there will a project clearing spree. In doing so, the IPB has to be under watch and prevented from randomly clearing projects by facilitating land conversion in areas where planners as well as local stake holders have suggested and earmarked totally different uses for that land.
The IPB cannot over ride such grass-root decisions and become a zone changing body.
