I refer to the shocking front page news report appearing in the Herald dated November 4, 2018 on the cutting of nearly 15,000 fruit bearing trees in Cansarvanem village of Pernem Taluka for the proposed Greenfield International airport at Mopa .
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has prepared guidelines for smart cities in India. According to these guidelines, the strategic components of area-based development in the Smart Cities Mission are city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (Greenfield development) plus a Pan-city initiative in which smart solutions are applied covering larger parts of the City. The smart cities guidelines further state that city extension(Greenfield development) will introduce most of the smart solutions in a previously vacant area (more than 250 acres) using innovative planning, plan financing and plan implementation tools (e.g. land pooling/ land reconstitution).
The city extension (Greenfield development) area under the smart cities project initiative is more than 250 acres with no upper limit. Therefore, the city extension plans can cover several villages around the existing city/municipal limits. Can the existing village settlement areas be shown as vacant areas/barren in the city extension (Greenfield development) plans?
The capital city of Panjim, has been chosen for the smart cities project initiative in Goa. Is the Panjim smart city proposal restricted to Retrofitting and Redevelopment options only? Or does it also include Greenfield development? If so, has the planning area of the Panjim state capital city for implementing the Greenfield development under the smart cities project initiative been notified?
Massive infrastructure and housing development projects were implemented in vast open areas surrounding the cities in South-East Asia mainly on abandoned tin mining lands. The necessary guidelines and procedures for preparation & approvals of the earthworks plans for the development projects were first put in place.
There was an urgent need to prepare the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) to resolve the existing transportation related issues of the Panjim Smart City by first defining a sustainable transportation policy for the small/medium town. However, it is shocking that the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for the entire rural-urban State of Goa is being prepared under Panaji Smart City. Are there hidden “Greenfield” Development plans for Panaji Smart City?
Serious attempts are being made to treat the entire rural-urban state of Goa as one city for the smart cities mission. The objective is for promoting massive urban transportation infrastructure projects in villages all over Goa for the hidden business development plans of the unsustainable Mopa Airport, which considers the massive influx of migrant workers in Goa as a component of tourism development. Can we allow this to happen by destroying the village settlement areas, livelihood areas, the unique identity and peaceful way of life of the local village communities in Goa?
