Team Herald
PANJIM: The fate of the proposed passenger ropeway depends on the writ petitions filed by former senior town planner Edgar Ribeiro, Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) and Goa Foundation filed in 2019, challenging the Panjim’s Outline Development Plan (ODP) 2021, due to its haphazard planning and frequent zone changes.
On the other hand, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department last month asked the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) to re-notify the ODP-2031 for Panjim planning area by inviting suggestions from the general public.
GBA Convenor Sabina Martins said that they had objected to the Section 16 B of TCP Act and has demanded that the new plan be prepared with people’s participating and not by the builders and developers.
She said that the previous ODP was complex with haphazard planning and frequent zone changes which were done arbitrarily. She apprehended that even pending the revision of the Panjim ODP, “proposed permissions” would be granted by the government, for development on the basis of existing ODP, now denotified.
Meanwhile, the TCP issued a revised notification dated January 13, 2023, defining limits of Panjim Planning Area by excluding parts of Penha de Franca Village Panchayat. Only government buildings such as Goa Assembly Complex, Secretariat and the High Court of Bombay at Goa building have been kept in Panjim Planning area
Villagers of Penha de France had recently objected to the inclusion of parts of their village into the Panjim Planning Area. The new notification specifies the survey numbers of areas in Panjim, Taleigao, Calpur, Chimbel, part area of Penha de Franca, etc, which define the limits of the Panjim Planning Area. The detailed plan of the planning area is also specified in the notification.
