The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department issued 141 technical clearances and 745 zoning certificates, resulting in the conversion of a total of 16,94,115 square metres of land from the Regional Plan 2021 to the final Outline Development Plan (ODP), based on a circular dated December 22, 2022, and an Ordinance promulgated in February last year.
On Monday, the High Court of Bombay at Goa quashed and set aside the circular dated December 15, 2022, and the executive order of August 22, 2024, which had brought into effect two ODPs for the five coastal villages of Calangute, Candolim, Parra, Arpora and Nagoa.
The Court, however, granted a four-week stay on the operation of its order, allowing the respondent — the TCP Department — time to seek relief from the Supreme Court.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo emerged as a major beneficiary of the zone changes that followed the declaration of the five villages as planning areas under the jurisdiction of the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA).
The ODPs for these villages were earlier suspended on April 27, 2022, due to widespread irregularities in their preparation and finalisation. A high-level review committee was constituted to examine these alleged illegalities.
The High Court noted that the committee had indicted Michael Lobo and former Minister Francis Silveira, both of whom served as chairmen of the NGPDA. Lobo held the post between 2012 and 2019 and also during the time the ODP was prepared.
According to the committee, 8,04,224 sq m of land was changed from the Regional Plan to the draft ODP 2025, while 8,89,891 sq m was altered in the transition from draft to final ODP, making a total of 16,94,115 sqm.
The report highlighted that Lobo had taken a keen interest in the ODP and had facilitated changes in zoning based on personal discretion. It also found that road widths were significantly reduced without justification — from six to three metres, 15 to 10 metres, and 25 to 15 metres — primarily to legitimise existing unauthorised development.
Further, low-lying paddy fields were converted into development zones, commercial zones were allotted to properties lacking proper access, and sloped lands in No Development Zones (NDZ) under RP 2021 were reclassified as settlement zones. These actions contributed to increased traffic congestion and environmental degradation.
The committee recommended that all such changes be reversed and the affected areas restored to their original designations under RP 2021.
Further, low-lying paddy fields were converted into development zones, commercial zones were allotted to properties lacking proper access, and sloped lands in No Development Zones (NDZ) under RP 2021 were reclassified as settlement zones. These actions contributed to increased traffic congestion and environmental degradation.
The committee recommended that all such changes be reversed and the affected areas restored to their original designations under RP 2021.