VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: There appears to be something intrinsically wrong in the State’s planning process. The Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) has been rejected by the government for errors that were discovered in it. Last year the Tourism Master Plan (TMP), that is five years in the making, was also rejected. Both rejections came at presentations made by the agencies drafting the plans to the Ministers and MLAs. Before this, stakeholders had almost unanimously rejected both these plans for various reasons.
Political observers have squarely blamed the failure of successive governments to involve the local people in planning for their State as the main reason for the planning failures.
Former MLA and columnist Radharao Gracias said the plan was drafted keeping in minds interests of non-Goans instead of the local community. “The plans are being rejected because they are not in the interest of the locals. It is being done by people who have a vested interest for which successive governments are at fault,” Gracias said.
The CZMP and the TMP, however, aren’t the only plans that the people have poked holes into. The Regional Plan (RP) 2021, the various Outline Development Plans are other examples of the result of distancing the people from the initial planning process for the State, forcing the government to then succumb to people’s demands until an amicable settlement is found.
The fear among Goans of land being captured by non-Goans have been provoking anger among the people. This is one reason that several plans have been rejected by the people forcing the government to either re-draft or call for public meetings.
Reacting in specific to the government’s decision to send the CZMP back for rectification, Gracias said, “The CZMP is designed by the people sitting in Delhi to take over the land in Goa. In any plan for that matter, everywhere Delhi parties have purchased properties and these get cleared by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and these are classified accordingly, whereas land purchased by Goans is shown as no-development,” he rued.
He demandedthat committees at the taluka level be formed in order to get the views of the locals during the initial stage of any plan.
His views were supported by former Law Commissioner Ramakant Khalap who alleged that mushrooming illegal constructions are one of the causes for failed plans in the State. “People of Goa are scared of three things – migration, rampant illegal constructions and commercialisation of seashore/riverfront. Their concerns should be taken up seriously. People have the right to be informed and decisions should not be abrupt or not in the interest of Goa and the Goans,” he suggested.
For any plan, he added, “The last man in the State must be convinced that it is in the interest of the State.”
Herald also spoke to former senior bureaucrats who shared a similar view that the lack of people’s participation is the root cause of the problem.
A retired bureaucrat, who requested anonymity, explained that apprehending these cases might be challanged in court is among the reasons that governments may succumb to the pressure of the people to relook at the plans.
“Nobody has any interest for the welfare of the locals. It all seems to be vested interest and deliberate attempt to exclude certain things from the plans,” he said. further suggesting that NGOs should create more awareness.
However, retired IAS officer Dr M Modassir pointed out to alleged non-adherence to guidelines. “The rejection of the plans could be because they (plans) might not be strictly as per the guidelines. There are various reasons though, and in the present circumstances, the Ministry of Environment and Forests are very careful about negative observations,” he said.
Goa may be lucky in that these plans have been rejected even before they could be implemented. The real disaster would be if these flawed plans were to be put to execution.
