Senior Town Planner R. K. Pandita has been assigned additional responsibilities as Chief Town Planner (Land Use) and head of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department in Goa, effective immediately and until further orders. Simultaneously, Senior Town Planner Vertika Dagur has been given additional charge as Chief Town Planner (Admin) and Chief Town Planner (Planning), alongside her existing responsibilities.
This functional bifurcation of the Chief Town Planner role comes in response to an administrative conflict that arose following the suspension of former Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik on April 30, 2025, over alleged irregularities that resulted in financial loss to the exchequer.
The appointments were issued by Under Secretary Durga Kinlekar, under the direction of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. The move follows earlier conflicting orders regarding the CTP post: while the personnel department appointed R. K. Pandita as Chief Town Planner (Planning), the TCP ministry, led by Minister Vishwajit Rane, had named Vertika Dagur to the same position. The current division of roles appears to have resolved the dispute.