Team Herald

PANJIM: North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) has initiated the process to prepare the land use map and land use register for Arpora, Nagoa, Parra planning and development areas. 

NGPDA last week invited fresh suggestions and objections to re-notify the Calangute-Candolim Outline Development Plan (ODP), the draft of which was initially set aside by the High Court. 

Speaking to media persons on Monday, NGPDA chairman Michael Lobo said the government has not scrapped the Calangute-Candolim ODP but has issued a notice to re-notify the draft. 

“Since Arpora-Nagoa- Parra coastal areas being newly included into the NGPDA, we have initiated the process to prepare a land use map and register for these planning areas,” Lobo said.

He said that in a bid to promote these areas as tourism hotspots, NGPDA intends to offer 250-300 home stays with 0.8 floor area ratio. “There is lot of demand from people here for home stays. They have the land and required infrastructure like water, roads, power, etc. Hence we want to promote home stays in these coastal areas,” he said. 

Lobo said that the coastal belts of Calangute-Candolim-Baga are saturated and hence there is need to divert tourism from these areas. “Arpora-Parra villages are the nearby areas that have the potential to attract tourists,” he stated. He said that the concept of home stays will make the people self sustainable.