Team Herald
MAPUSA: The Mapusa Nagrikancho Ekvott has requested Member Secretary of North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) to postpone the hearing on Land Use Map and Outline Development Plan.
The group in a letter to Member Secretary NGPDA stated that they had objected to the Land Use Map and the Outline Development plan (ODP) kept for inspection in Mapusa Municipality during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still ongoing and had also suggested that the said ODP be kept for the suggestions and objections of the citizens after the end of the pandemic as the pandemic was keeping the public away from inspecting the said plan.
However, despite the letter, the NGPDA ignored the request and fixed the hearing. The Mapusa Nagrikancho Ekvott claimed that they strongly protests the fact that this hearing being held at this time, even though concerned citizens of Mapusa have not had the opportunity to inspect the said plan, due to the ongoing pandemic. The group requests to postpone the hearing and to give more time to the public to give their opinions and suggestions on the ODP, otherwise the very purpose of this hearing will be defeated and it will be only an exercise in futility.
“The group protested to the hearing being held at Panjim instead of Mapusa while only following the letter of the law and not its spirit. Going ahead with the exercise will be open to legal challenges in future,” the group claimed.
