Goa needs a nonpartisan bridge between the People and the Planning Authorities

Events over the past weeks on Goa’s town planning terrain will be received by various sides differently from their specific perspectives. I for one see it as an incredible opportunity for us all to revisit and reshape what the processes and products of town planning and urbanization in Goa should be. When I say “all”, I mean the people of Goa and the planning authorities – together.

Thankfully, this is not new to Goa. The 2007 Draft Regional Plan led by the venerable Edgar Ribeiro was crafted through precisely such a process, with citizen participation, transparency, and decentralized outreach at every stage, down to Goa’s wards. 

It was highly successful in producing what many Goans proudly call the “People’s Draft Regional Plan.” We need to build on the issue right now is that the planning process in Goa is “reactionary” – in that one side acts, and the other reacts. 

We now have an opportunity to transform this process into one of “collaborative” visioning. This is a wonderful precedent for all the right reasons.

Such an initiative could be transformative for Goa’s future. And it seems to me that the first step is to create a nonpartisan bridge between the people and the planning authorities. This bridge has not existed, and we currently have two sides at opposite ends with a huge gap in the middle. 

It also seems to me that this bridge cannot be another government-appointed committee. Many such committees have come and gone, and I am dubious if a new one will warrant the credibility it deserves in the public eye to get such a transformative process underway.

So then, what might this “bridge” be? Perhaps nothing more than a compact, informal, honorary group of nonpartisan people with no conflict of interest. The role of this group should be to help mediate the aspirations and concerns of the citizens and the authorities, help steer them towards a common vision and in a transparent manner, help distil them into broad and clear recommendations. 

To this end, it will have to be a multidisciplinary group because of the need to deliberate on diverse issues – environment, heritage, economics, transportation, infrastructure, law, governance, sociology, and more. 

The group should not be a decision-making entity – that is the job of the planning board. The group should not be leading, shaping, or updating any Plan – that is the responsibility of the government planners. 

The engagements of this informal advisory group should be cemented in transparency with the public and planning authorities at every stage, and the good news is that we have a model in the process of the 2007 Draft Regional Plan to build on. The intelligent constitution of this group is the first step to ensuring the success of this initiative.

Like all places, Goa is evolving and growing. We can either shepherd this growth or let it be ad hoc. An effective process of shepherding urban growth begins with a careful, empirical analysis of factual data and geographic mappings of the physical landscape. 

What are the demographic and economic projections for Goa over a particular time interval? What are Goa’s sensitive and “no-touch” areas? Does the current Regional Plan, which was finally adopted in 2010, accurately reflect all the changes that have occurred across Goa over the past decade? 

Do the existing Outline Development Plans synergize with the intentions of the Regional Plan? How will they inform the overdue Comprehensive Development Plans? And beyond all these policy tools, do we need concurrent urban design strategies to further guide the actual physical form of development? 

Such questions are fundamental to begin serious, sustainable planning in Goa. Without this, planning in Goa will remain murky and speculative.

At the end of the day, planning is about making decisions through intelligent forecasts. Conserving our natural resources is fundamental, but so is generating a vibrant economy within the context of sustainability. 

Different stakeholders are obviously focused on different things per their priorities and none of them may be entirely right or wrong. How you negotiate these diverse interests is what planning is all about. It is a continuous give-and-take process – aimed not towards the advantage of a few, but towards a bigger common good. 

This is why transparency, through easily understood spatial plans, is crucial. This is why involvement and participation from all sides are so important.

Goa deserves this kind of initiative. And from where I see it, Goans have been waiting for it. If we can make such an initiative unfold in the near future, I sincerely hope that both the people and the planning authorities of Goa will participate with optimism. 

Events of the past years and past weeks aside, we now have an opportunity in front of us. We can each give it our all and hope that others will do the same. We cannot afford to be naïve, and we must keep our ears and eyes wide open at all times. 

But if we come into such a collaborative initiative with a positive attitude, I am confident that, however big or small, something good will come out of it.