The need for speed
When it announced the Regional Plan 2021 (RP 2021) for the talukas of Pernem and Canacona, the members of the State Level Committee (SLC) as well as the officials of the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) gave the impression that notifications in respect of statewide policy changes, as well as the actual surface utilisation plans for two talukas were being notified, and that these would become law immediately thereafter. The categorisation of 76 per cent of the land mass of Goa in the eco-sensitive Eco I and Eco II zones would put a stop to rampant conversion of land for settlement and commercial use.
Or so we thought.
Now, Chief Town Planner Morad Ahmed has brought us all back to Earth. He told a local TV news channel on Monday that the criteria of eco-sensitive zones would apply only to Pernem and Canacona, the two talukas whose surface utilisation plans are notified. Regrettably, Mr Ahmed is right. While the complete prohibition of any construction in the Eco I zone and the severe restrictions on what is permissible in Eco II zones is now in force all over the state, it cannot be brought into effect outside of Pernem and Canacona until these zones are marked on taluka surface utilisation maps in terms of survey numbers and duly notified.
Therefore, the ecological criteria will not apply to the remaining nine talukas till their surface utilisation plans are notified. This means that for these talukas, the old RP 2001 will continue to be in force till the plans for these areas are notified. Any person can go ahead with land conversions and even construction, till the RP 2021 taluka plans are notified.
The specific problem here is that under the provisions of RP 2001, paddy fields can be converted for settlement and commercial use. This is happening at a frighteningly swift pace, especially in the ‘urban’ villages close to Goa’s cities, which are rapidly developing as ‘suburbs’, as people migrate within Goa from the villages to the cities, primarily for commuting convenience and to ensure better education for their children. Building in paddy fields creates its own set of problems; mainly hill cutting to fill the low-lying fields, and disruption of traditional drainage patterns developed over thousands of years. This causes waterlogging and its attendent problems, including spread of disease.
If it is any consolation, the VP-1 and VP-2 status applies to the whole of the state as villages have been listed in RP 2021. But this only ensures that the new VP-I and VP-II floor area ratios of 80 and 60 respectively will apply, with the proviso for 20 per cent less FAR for mega-projects of 4,000 sq metres area and above.
The SLC needs, therefore, to speed up finalisation of the remaining taluka plans to whatever extent is possible, to prevent big builders from reaping a bonanza while the RP 2021 finalisation process is still underway. The SLC also needs to look into the ‘anomalies’ that the Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has identified in the plan document. Constructive criticism must be taken in the right spirit and given appropriate consideration on merit.
Well begun is…
It is only right that the newly appointed Chairman of the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) P Mara Pandiyan has stressed on bridging the communication gap between the MPT, the state government and the central government by having closer co-ordination. He has said that he will hold talks to sort out problems that have been created owing to a communication gap. As the MPT chairman has said, the port should usher in development that is “in the interest of the people and the state of Goa”.
