Team Herald
PANJIM: Claiming that the Town and Country Planning Department’s latest attack against Goa is the concept of Transferable Development Rights (TDR), Goencho Avaaz on Saturday said it is another attempt to help builders construct bigger and higher buildings and make more profits from the destruction of Goa.
“Goencho Avaaz is shocked to see that despite massive protests and widespread anger against multi-housing projects and other speculative changes in land use, Goa government remains preoccupied with the profits of builders and corporations, unmindful of the rampant destruction they have already caused to our beautiful Goa,” Goencho Avaaz Co-Convener Capt Viriato Fernandes said.
He added, “Goencho Avaaz makes it clear to the politicians and builders that there is no development rights over land, for land use are placed in the domain of gram sabhas by our Constitution.”
He further said that another cunning plan to allow further destruction of Goa has been proposed under the dubious name of accommodation reservation.
“This proposal aims at defeating the new Land Acquisition Act so that Goan lands can be handed over to private companies without any social impact assessment or gram sabha approvals. The illegal proposal will only allow more lands to be grabbed and more constructions across the State,” he said.
Goencho Avaaz has demanded that the government comply with the unanimous demands of Goans that only individual/family homes and village schools and hospital be permitted until 2031, and that the government provide financial compensation to land owners for preservation of green areas from the taxes collected from hotels and builders, industries and mining companies in the past.
