Team Herald
MARGAO: Social activists and citizens aggrieved by the amendments to the Goa Land Development and Construction Building Regulations Act, and the new Jetty Policy, have now resolved to take to the streets in a peaceful protest at Panjim on Monday, September 26.
Speaking to reporters at Margao’s Lohia Maidan on Wednesday, environmental activists Abhijit Prabhudessai and Diana Tavares, along with several others demanded that the amendments be scrapped immediately.
Lashing out at TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane, social activists said that the Minister has no regard for his own officers, the law, or the people of Goa.
“The TCP department has proved its incapacity to stop the destruction of Goa, as it has totally failed to stop the illegal filling of low-lying areas, cutting of hills, ugly constructions on hills and plateaus and destruction of the most sensitive parts of Goa,” said Prabhudessai.
He claimed that as per the amended Act, the regularisation of unauthorised structures is going to be allowed for big builders, with more than 500 square metres built-up area.
“These amendments must be scrapped immediately and an astringent Regional Plan 2031 must be prepared, to cope with the climate crisis, which will swallow 15 percent of Goa’s lands as per the state action plan on climate change,” he added.
Diana Tavares told reporters that these amendments will open the gates for widespread destruction of the remaining green areas of Goa at the hands of greedy land speculators and will displace Goans on an unprecedented scale.
“The agricultural and eco-sensitive zones in RP 2021 were protected until now, but these amendments propose massive constructions with lakhs of square metres of built-up area within lands demarcated under the RP 2021 as A1 and A2 zones, which include forests, mangroves, no-development slopes, khazans, paddy fields, rivers, and mudflats, nullahs and ponds, under the garb of golf courses and film cities,” she claimed.
They have appealed to the people of Goa to gather in large numbers outside the Chief Town Planner’s office on Monday to register their rejection of the amendments and to warn the government to respect democracy.
