Team Herald
MARGAO: In a move to protect the UNESCO world heritage site at Old Goa, the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC) has launched a signature petition drive at the Basilica de Bom Jesus.
This initiative follows a recent meeting between SOGAC volunteers and Town and Country Planning (TCP) officials, aiming to pressure the government into establishing a Master Plan for the area and halting various commercial projects and alleged illegal activities.
SOGAC representative Michal Gracias expressed concern over projects that could potentially compromise the sanctity of the holy location of ‘Goencho Saib’ and the surrounding heritage zone.
Gracias outlined the ‘unwanted’ development projects the committee opposes, including the four large farmhouses with 10 bedrooms each; floating jetties including the proposed Sagarmala jetty; illegal bungalows and various other constructions; unauthorised construction of a road touching the wall of St Francis Xavier Chapel; Heritage Interpretation Centre; Garbage Treatment Plant; Chocolate Exhibition Centre; 21 ghost house numbers given by the local panchayat; laterite resort connected to the Investment Promotion Board (IPB); helipad; Madkaikar Estate with bungalow; and finally, numerous land conversions at specified survey numbers.
The petition, which is gathering signatures from the thousands of faithful visitors to the Basilica, will be addressed to the Chief Minister, who is also the chairman of the St Francis Xavier Exposition Committee. It calls for the creation of a Heritage Master Plan with clearly defined buffer zones around national and state monuments, to be implemented before the next exposition of ‘Amcho Goencho Saib’. Additionally, the committee is advocating for the permanent closure of the road between the Basilica and Se Cathedral to unify the area.
SOGAC’s petition emphasised the historical and spiritual significance of Old Goa, noting visits by revered figures such as Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II, as well as various world leaders and dignitaries. The committee urged the government to address the alleged illegalities within non-permitted zones, arguing that failure to do so could irreparably damage the sanctity and ecosystem of this world-renowned heritage site.