The Mormugao Surface Utilization Plan is given in Appendix VII of the final report RPG-21 Regional Plan for Goa-2021 (Release three) issued by the State Level Committee for Regional Plan for Goa-2021. Why is this plan not referred to as Mormugao Taluka Surface Utilization Plan? The final plan dated September 2011 shows the transportation land use for domestic airport. Does this domestic airport refer to the existing Goa International Airport at Dabolim? Or is this domestic airport a fully defence airport with no transportation connectivity for horizon year 2021?
The Pernem Surface Utilisation Plan is shown in APPENDIX VII of the final report RPG-21 Regional Plan for Goa-2021 (Release One) issued by the State Level Committee for Regional Plan for Goa-2021. This final plan dated 6.11.2010 indicates the transportation land use for international airport land acquisition at Mopa near the Maharashtra border. It appears that the regional planners have not carried out any independent study to justify and support the location for the international airport at Mopa. According to their final (Release one) report referred above, the final area indicated for Mopa was based on the latest data received from Nodal Officer of Mopa Airport and not on the basis of Mopa Airport project master plan approvals and clearances.
As soon as the long-term draft master plan for Mopa Airport was prepared in the year 2012, there was excitement to have the Goa Vision Document-2035 in a hurry. Neither the Goa Metropolitan Region was defined in terms of human population nor any land-use plans proposed for horizon year 2035. The proposed Greenfield International Airport at Mopa is linked to the National investment region master plans covering various sectors of development. Without long-term sustainable land-use plans, the national transportation corridors (elevated or otherwise) will result in unsustainable widening of all existing transportation infrastructure in Goa for providing connectivity and linkages. Such development models will promote rapid unplanned urbanisation by destroying villages and eco-sensitive zones. There will be displacement of the local communities.
There are no proper approvals and site clearances from various authorities for the proposed Mopa Greenfield Airport location plans and the required supporting transportation infrastructure projects. Therefore, there is a need to delete the transportation land use for the International Airport land acquisition near Mopa and instead propose alternative land use based on proper mapping / base data of the area.
In the Request for Qualification (RFQ) document dated 3 October, 2014 for development of Greenfield International Airport at Mopa, the existing Goa international airport at Dabolim has been clearly shown in the Information Memorandum (refer APPENDIX VII/Page 111). Hence, there is an urgent need for proper demarcation of the layout plans for the centrally located Dabolim international airport, so that improvement projects can be implemented over a period of time, to meet the long-term air traffic requirements of Goa.
