Team Herald
PANJIM: With merely four-and-a-half years left for the Regional Plan 2021 to lapse, the plan has been marred in controversy and uncertainty looms large over its implementation. The State Government is now considering drafting a new land use plan up to 2050. The details of the same are likely to be spelt out in the coalition government’s common minimum programme (CMP) to be released on June 18.
The process to draw up an RP with a long-term perspective was initiated in 1997-1998 through Consulting Engineering Services, a private firm from Delhi. A draft RP 2011 was notified in August 2006. This plan sparked off extensive protests led by Goa Bachao Abhiyan — which managed to get it scrapped in 2007. This resulted in notification of RP 2021 by December 2011- which too was mired in controversy.
When contacted, Minister for Town and Country Planning (TCP) Vijay Sardesai questioned the wisdom of focusing on a regional plan that is now relevant only for four years and suggested that it could be time to consider formulating a regional plan catering to a long term planning, may be up to 2050.
“I don’t find any logic behind rectifying RP21 at this stage. We can now focus on a new plan for long term planning. We can formulate new ideas with a focus to retain the green areas,” he said.
Sardesai said that fresh rectification will further drag the implementation of RP 21.
The then BJP-led government had begun the exercise to carry out rectifications to the RP21 and accordingly had approved modified land plans of Sattari, Pernem and Canacona taluka at the fag end of its five-year tenure. However, before it could notify the plans for these three talukas, the election code of conduct was imposed stalling all works.
Sardesai said recently he had asked the TCP department to draft a concept paper in line with an idea of incentivizing the efforts to retain the old Houses or green patches in the State as part of the land use plan. “I have got the concept paper…it is a good idea and it will help us to retain the green patches,” he said.
