TEAM HERALD
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
PANJIM: A consultation organised by Goa Bachao Abhiyan reached an agreement that the
”It is important that it empowers the people as per the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution and removes the over-riding powers of the amended Section 16 & 16A of the Goa TCP Act, 1975,” the participants at the consultation resolved.
”The final notified Regional Plan for Goa 2021, now in force, is not acceptable with its Eco Tourism Zones, Micro Industrial Zones across Goa and fraudulent village plans inserted for some villages like Loutolim, Nuvem, etc allegedly by the Sarpanch in connivance with the TCP authorities. The corrections must be made and the revised RP 2021 must be notified within a reasonable time frame,” were allegation made by various participants at the consultation.
There were various suggestions as to how the Regional Plan should be finalised (1) through corrections, including substitution of the village plan [submitted to the TCP by the Sarpanch alone] with the village plan approved by the Village Panchayat on the recommendation of the Village Level Committee on RP and the consent of the Gram Sabha; (2) Partial de-notification of the RP2021 for the villages having disputes over dual plans processed by the TCP Dept in spite of written objections; and (3) Scrapping of the RP 2021, reverting to the RP 2001 and preparing a new RP.
There was also a view expressed by some persons that
It may be recalled that the GBA had already initiated the process of consultation on a new draft for the Goa TCP Act in 2009 and the Council for Social Justice & Peace [CSJP] in consultation with Edgar Ribeiro prepared and submitted to the Government of Goa a booklet entitled ”Framework for Development Planning in Goa” in August, 2010.
There have been two progressive amendments to the TCP Act, 1975, both to Section 17 to insert a restriction on ”hill cutting” and ”land filling” in 1994 and to ”revoke” the RP 2011 in February, 2007, as demanded by the people of Goa led by GBA.
”It is imperative that the Goa TCP Act, 1975, is revoked and replaced. The Committee appointed by the previous government to review the Act must be disbanded as it has been unable to meet even once in two years of its existence and a new committee appointed with town planners and lawyers of calibre, not like the ones who recently drafted the so-called ”legal opinion” and ”advisory” from the Chief Town Planner to the Director of Panchayats regarding the restriction on the powers of the Gram Sabha to discuss the issue of construction licences,” GBA member stated.
