I was not part of NGPDA when ODPs were drafted: Lobo

Team Herald

PANJIM: Calangute MLA Michael Lobo on Wednesday said that he was not a part of drafting Outline Development Plans (ODPs) for Arpora, Nagoa and Parra areas.

Lobo said that these ODPs were drafted when the then MLA Francis Silveira was the chairman of North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and the then Deputy Chief Minister Babu Kavalekar as the Minister for Town and Country  Planning (TCP) department.

“I have not seen my name in the report (presented by TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane). Whatever properties government wants to revert back they are free to do so. I was not even member of any sub-committee. I never pressurised any TCP officer nor can they be pressurised. I don’t know,” he said.

Lobo said that the one land which has now been reverted was allotted for setting up a hotel management institute for which the matter was also discussed during the gram sabha and the proposal was approved. 

“If NGPDA wants to revert it I have no issues. There is nothing personal because we have no plans to construct building there. It was given for institute of hotel management for which government had given grants and people would have been benefitted,” he said.  

Lobo further said that the ODPs were prepared in 2017 and that in one of the properties which was listed as commercial, he had already constructed a hotel there.

According to Lobo, “ODPs are prepared by government officers and not by PDA chairman. We may propose some changes but it is up to the officers to decide what is best.”

Lobo said that any charges can now be effected only while preparing the new Regional Plan for Goa and not in the existing Regional Plan. 

When contacted, Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik said that the areas which were earmarked as agriculture zone in ODP 2025 for Calangute and Candolim areas has now been reverted to settlement zone. “It was earlier marked as settlement zone in Regional Plan and later it was marked as agriculture zone. But the committee has now reverted it to settlement zone,” he said while declining to speak further.