My letter to demarcate village roads sent on August 16,2012 appeared on the business /business estates supplement of the Herald (August 27, 2012/page 3). Have the roads been widened in Goa or wrongly shown in the Regional Plan for Goa-2021 village maps? This subject will need urgent attention till the unsustainable Mopa Airport and supporting mega investments (such as marinas, golf courses, theme parks, unwanted hotels, SEZs, urbanisation highways/bridges & unwanted housing projects) in Goa are rejected & cancelled through proper notifications. It will take time. Let us make it happen. Nothing is impossible!
Is the Curtorim hotel project linked to the new industrial estate/SEZ project at Shiroda/Panchwadi? Or is the proposed Curtorim hotel project for promoting Curtorim village as 365 days wedding destination for Indian tourists? If the internal road from the hotel connecting the major district road is required to have 8m right of way, then what is the right of way for the major district road from Gogol urban township/shopping mall(near WRD complex) to Curtorim and beyond? Can we get the required right of way for the major district road without demolishing existing structures of local communities? Also, the tourists can come to the proposed Curtorim hotel through short cut routes from any direction. Can we get the required 8m right of way on other existing internal village roads without encroaching the plot areas and demolishing existing structures of local communities?
There is a hidden national highway road from Belgaum passing through internal wards of Camurlim, Raia, Rachol (near Bella Vista) and Maina /Curtorim. The road network alignment is highlighted in the Goa investment policy-2014 and is also given in Final report of Regional Plan for Goa-2021(Release three) Appendix X (map showing final classification of settlements).However, this new highway road passing through internal wards of Camurlim, Raia, Rachol(near Bella Vista) and Maina /Curtorim is not shown in the notified Regional Plan for Goa-2021 village maps. Why are sustainable village land-use plans not being finalised? Why the tourism policy kept hidden? Why is there no local community consultation process?
The Curtorim hotel project will definitely disturb peace of the villagers. Let us not extend the coastal tourism mess to internal villages of Goa. The hotel project must be rejected. There is a need to create awareness to reject the project.
