PANJIM: The BJP-led government’s decision to open the Regional Plan 2021 — kept in abeyance presently — for fresh suggestions and objections, has not been welcomed by the NGO and activists, who look at it as “yet another attempt to fool the people of Goa”.
“Where are the guidelines for keeping the plan open?” is the question raised by every activist, who has been part of RP agitation for nearly a decade now.
With general elections due in February 2017, the activists feel that the move is to drag the issue further and notify the plan just before the election.
Terming Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza decision as “uninformed”, the activists demanded that the plan be closed. And if any correction needs to be made the same should be done based on those whopping 8000 objections and suggestions received from various sections of society including the panchayats and municipalities.
“They are just passing time till elections. Neither was Congress nor BJP is serious about it. BJP wasted three years doing nothing and now they want to do for votes,” said Sabina Martins, convener, Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) that spearheaded the agitation against RP in 2006.
“All this moves are to notify the plan before election, giving no opportunity to the people to react and then forcing the new government again to freeze it. So the state will continue to run without any land plan in place… that is the whole idea behind this,” she reacted and asked “With no guidelines in place, how can the plan be kept open?”
GBA has been demanding that the government should recommence the correction process of village level plans with proper transparency and clear guidelines.
The correction process was initiated in 2012, but was halted after few months. “The process initiated by the then government was halted during the Assembly election. We want the government to restart the process. Go through village panchayat plans, make necessary corrections and then finalise the plan,” Martins said.
GBA secretary Rebony Sahai said that government need to close the existing plan, tabulate the earlier received objections and continue the correction process and notify it. “I don’t find any valid purpose behind throwing the plan open afresh…the move aims to cheat and fool the people of Goa once again,” she commented.
“We never said that the entire plan is bad, there are errors in the plan and the same need to be rectified. The rectification has to be based on the issues like road width, increase in FAR, eco-tourism zone, micro industrial zones, illegal conversion that have been base of opposing the RP21 for last four years now,” Sahai said terming the decision as “bogus”.
The Task Force member and architect Ritu Prasad refused to comment on the issue stating that “Government itself needs to be clear as to how it plans to take forward finalizing the RP21”.
RP21 was one issue that saw massive public agitations against then Digamber Kamat-led government, that even led to humiliating defeat of Congress party during March 2012 elections.
