PANJIM: Following public outrage, the government on Tuesday decided to withdraw the order notifying 56 villages as urban areas.
Herald was first to break the story on the order issued by government notifying 56 villages as urban areas for census purpose. The news report drew widespread criticism and protest against the government move.
A release by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said, “Recently, the Revenue Department has notified 56 revenue villages as ‘urban area’ under Section 2(38) of the Goa Land Revenue Code 1968 (LRC). Under LRC, notification of any village as ‘urban area’ only affects the process of assessment of land revenue and this classification does not change any building or infrastructure guidelines as far as the Revenue department is concerned.”
The release says that revenue department has already clarified that these 56 villages are census towns as per Census 2011.
“The notification simply adopted revenue villages which are the census towns as ‘urban area’ without any additional criteria. As per Census guidelines, a Census Town (CT) is defined as an area having a population of more than 5,000, at least 70% male main working population engaged in non-agriculture activities and a population density of at least 400/sq kms,” the release clarified.
The CMO says that the notification has caused anxiety amongst the public. “The public is also worried because the issue of notification of villages as ‘urban area’ may have certain implications under other laws. Considering the public concerns, the government has decided to withdraw the order with immediate effect,” the CMO said.
A group of locals under a common banner Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) had last Saturday alleged that the government had failed to take the people into confidence before arriving at the decision to notify the 56 villages as urban areas. The forum also demanded revoking the order within 15 days. Several village gram sabhas have also taken up the issue.
The development comes a day after government withdrew another circular notifying Section 144 in the State following a terror threat.
Earlier, in the day Law Minister Nilesh Cabral had requested Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to rename them ‘census towns’.
“The entire process is done based on the census carried out in 2011, when Congress-led government was in power in Goa. Certain sections are misleading people on the urban areas although it is a well known fact that the status of the village panchayats will not change. I have nevertheless suggested to the CM to re-name urban areas as census town as the reclassification is carried out based on this once-in-a-decade survey,” he said on Tuesday.
He added that based on the reclassification, the 56 villages will get additional finance. “The urban areas does not mean constructing tall buildings,” he clarified.
The minister, to another subject wherein the High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed State government, Department of Municipal Administration and Department of Panchayats to ensure development plans are ready within three months, has hailed the decision. He stated, “It is a welcome decision.”
