The website of the Corporation of the City of Panaji says it is the “world’s smallest municipal corporation” and that perhaps is something that needs to be rectified. It is the smallness of the municipal area that throws up hurdles on the path of urban development.
The only area in Panjim that is exclusively set aside for commercial and institutional buildings is the Patto EDC complex. All of the rest of Panjim is a hodgepodge of residential, commercial, institutional development, where you can actually find examples of shops, financial institutions, schools and residences in the same building.
It is only if the city can expand into the suburbs that urban planning can then reorganize the areas to bring in some semblance of structure in Panjim. It would give planners more area to work with and so ease the congestion that currently plagues the city.
When the municipal council was raised to the status of a corporation in 2002, the adjacent village of Taleigao, and Penha de Franca on the north of the river Mandovi were sought to be included within the city limits, but following protests and objections the move was dropped.
It is perhaps time to reconsider this proposal, as if the city does not grow by adding areas to it, then it will have to grow vertically changing its skyline and its character.
What Panjim needs, therefore is a Greater Panjim that could decongest the city.
