The long pending Regional Plan 2021 for the State of Goa has made many recommendations including widening of the village roads to ten meters without analyzing its perilous impact on the peaceful village life. The immediate effect of widening the narrow interior village roads would lead to the destruction of many centuries old village houses & manifold increase in the tourist vehicular traffic, a precursor of accidents & pollution.
If the government authorities decide to widen the narrow interior coastal village roads for the purpose of catering to the needs of the growing tourist vehicular traffic visiting a chain of five star hotels then they should plan for new two-lane tar/concrete roads of 8 to 10 meters width by involving the village Panchayats at the planning stage.
The layout of the proposed new village roads should not disturb the existing human settlement in villages to the maximum extent possible. In Europe, for example, the authorities have bypassed the old narrow village roads passing through the populated areas and built new two-lane modern concrete/tar roads, to avoid traffic congestion in villages. Majority of the existing village roads in Goa belong to the Portuguese colonial era.
Amend the Regional Plan 2021 devised for narrow political gains and adopt for a long term scientific plan, incorporating modern technologies, based on sustainable parameters in order to meet the futuristic needs of the next generations of Goans. Such a step is of paramount importance since limited land mass is available for housing by the locals in the tiny state of Goa.
Various available options should be explored by the authorities before executing their impromptu plan proposed for blanket widening of the village roads. Let the welfare of the people be the final law.
