MARGAO: Goa’s proposed Town and Country Planning (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024, has ignited a firestorm of criticism from environmental activists, legal experts, and civil society organisations. The Bill, which aims to shield land conversions from judicial review, is being denounced as a threat to Goa’s ecological balance and democratic processes.
“This is an outrageous attempt to bypass the judiciary and undermine the democratic process,” declared Jack Mascarenhas, President of Goyche Fudle Pilge Khatir (GFPK). Mascarenhas warned that the bill is “a blatant power grab that threatens to irrevocably alter the face of Goa”, inviting “unchecked corruption, environmental degradation, and the erosion of our coastal heritage”. He called for united opposition and public mobilisation against the Bill.
Swapnesh Sherlekar, President of Goykarancho Aawaz (GA) and member of Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA), echoed these sentiments. “If any such Bill is proposed to be tabled in the Assembly, it should be outright rejected,” Sherlekar asserted. He characterised the move as evidence that Goa’s leaders are “mere Real Estate Brokers working only for the interests of their Rich non-Goan clients”.
Legal experts also voiced their concerns. Former Law Commission member and senior advocate Cleofato Almeida Coutinho denounced the proposed legislation as “irrational and a fraud on law itself, besides a fraud on the people of Goa”. Coutinho predicted that while the law would likely be struck down, “irreversible damage may be done” in the interim.
Orville Dourado Rodrigues, Goencho Ekvott founder, warned that the Bill would “bestow absolute dictatorial powers on those controlling the legislature”.
“In a liberal democracy, the Legislature enacts laws, the Executive enforces laws and the Judiciary implements laws. This balance cannot be disrupted just to accommodate the greed of a few. Where rampant land conversions is a very hot topic, such an act will cause total chaos and lead to rapid degradation of our scarce natural resources, and the damage will be irreversible,” he said.
At the heart of this controversy is the State Government’s plan to introduce a Bill in the current monsoon session that would effectively bypass court scrutiny of zoning changes and development approvals in key coastal areas. The proposed legislation seeks to invalidate any court rulings that challenge approvals for zoning and conversions in the Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra Planning Areas. (see box)
