Team Herald 

MAPUSA: A taskforce committee, consisting of Chairman Sudhir Kandolkar, Mahabaleshwar Gadekar, Nelson Carvalho, Ryan Braganza, Rajesh Kunchelkar, Ashwinkumar Prabhu and Shaikh Ahmed, has been re-constituted to implement the Town Planning Scheme in Downtown, Mapusa. 

The committee, which will function from an office located in Mapusa Municipal council building, will work towards the smooth implementation of TPS at Downtown Mapusa and act as a bridge between the government and the stakeholders. 

This was informed by Urban Development Minister Francis D’Souza, who said there is no other option than implementing the town planning scheme to de-congest Mapusa town and to bring in all the government offices under one roof and expand commercial activities in the town.

Under the scheme, the government will take the land into possession from farmers, of which 35 per cent land will be given back to them in the form of developed plots. “The whole land is not going for infrastructural construction since there are water bodies, open spaces and more. The land will be in government possession till the scheme is implemented and government will not acquire the land,” D’Souza added.  

”Thirty per cent would be utilised for construction of roads, drainages, parking, nullahs and open spaces, while 35 per cent will be utilised for development. There are 2,500 farmers and we have received letter of willingness from 152 farmers,” he said, adding that after complexion of the scheme, the proportional share of land or compensation will be given back to the owners and all this will be planned development according to the rules and everything would be legal.