TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Asserting that the Outline Development Plan (ODPs) should be part of the Regional Plan 2021, the Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) on Saturday urged the government to recommence the correction process of the land plan at each village level before finalizing the same. The hearing and correction process of the land plan was halted during the March 2012 Assembly election.
Addressing a press conference, GBA convener Sabina Martins alleged that the delay in finalizing the RP21 has allowed large scale illegalities to mushroom, in the form of illegal hill cutting, land filling, filling of low lying areas, increasing FAR, illegal construction without proper road width, etc. “This will continue until the land plan is put in place,” she said.
“This is nothing but an attempt to allow backdoor entry to the building and construction lobby,” she alleged warning that the ‘BJP government’s betrayal on their RP 21 promise, would be well remembered by GBA and people during the next elections in 2017’.
Raising strong objection to the government move to open the plan for the MLAs for consultation, GBA has demanded that the government should recommence the correction process of village level plans with proper transparency and clear guidelines. “The process initiated by the then government was halted during the Assembly election. We want the government to restart the process. Go to village panchayat plans, make necessary corrections and then finalize the plan,” Martins said.
“We urge government not to open the plan for the MLAs, who would suggest changes as per their needs, but work with transparency and clear guidelines, in the interest of people and environment,” she added.
Stating that the RP concept must be ‘one plan one state’, GBA demanded that ODPs should be part of RP21, following all the guidelines of the plan. “ODPs cannot be kept out of RP. The government is regularizing outside the regional plan what people objected to in RP 2021 mega projects without guidelines and also by way of 20% extra FAR for hotels and educational institutions,” she said.
The government has decided to notify the plan in “one go” by September 30 by making all necessary corrections. The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister, Francis D’Souza is currently consulting ruling MLAs on the issue.
