PANJIM: Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the gram sabhas of Goa that are opposing the inclusion of their villages in a Planning and Development Authority (PDA) and the formulations of the Outline Development Plans (ODP).
The council has also appreciated the resolve of the villagers to protect their villages from unsustainable development and has extended its support to their protest meeting on April 6 at Azad Maidan.
“Goa’s identity which is reflected in its diverse and unique social and economic lifestyle of its village people is now being systematically destroyed by planning models being imposed by the government by exploiting the archaic and obsolete laws like the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 for this purpose,” said CJSP Executive Secretary Fr Savio Fernandes.
He added, “The parallel and arbitrary planning processes of having a Regional Plan, Outline Development Plan, Village Development Plan and a District Development Plan under the parallel planning laws in place, which are carried out independently of each other on the very same parcel of natural resource, is nothing short of a fraud on the people as there is no transparency and accountability in such planning processes.”
He further said that the government has not been serious in putting a contemporary, transparent and accountable planning structure and process in place. Recently, the government urged panchayats to present their village development plans to fulfill the criteria laid down by the 14th Finance Commission for release of financial grants.
“Almost simultaneously, the Goa government is imposing the PDAs and preparing the Outline Development Plans for the same villages without consulting the panchayats and without giving consideration to the village development plans as approved by the Gram Sabhas,” he added
The council has appealed to the government to scrap the PDAs and ODPs from the villages and to re-enact the out-dated Goa Town and Country Planning Act in order to incorporate the District Development Planning process.
“The mere attempts of the government to falsely drag in the Archbishop’s office to confuse and misguide the people will not help to resolve the crisis,” CJSP said.
