23 Sep 2022  |   07:17am IST

Goa Bachao Abhiyan wants amendments to Land Act scrapped

GBA convenor Sabina Martins and secretary Reboni Saha stated that the amendments are a hurried exercise guided by a committee of builders, liaison agents and Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vishwajit Rane, who is incidentally one of the largest landowners in Goa.

Team Herald

PANJIM: The Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) on Thursday demanded immediate withdrawal of amendments to the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations alleging that amendments would favour only commercial interests and landowners and no other stakeholders.

GBA convenor Sabina Martins and secretary Reboni Saha stated that the amendments are a hurried exercise guided by a committee of builders, liaison agents and Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vishwajit Rane, who is incidentally one of the largest landowners in Goa. GBA has alleged that the only focus is on increasing allowable built-up areas and an entry into Goa’s pristine villages and eco-zones at the cost of all citizens except big-ticket commercial interests. 

In a statement, GBA has said, “The amendments are guaranteed to turn Goa into a random theme park-cum-party slum. The Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations is a subset of the TCP Act and must flow downstream from the regional perspective plan and outline development plans (ODPs), not be master to them.”

It further said, “The ill-advised amendments not only reflect badly on the functioning of the TCP department but on the inability of the State in terms of law enforcement in the case of land illegalities, as well as its inability to create proper infrastructure for its citizens.”