MARGAO: The ODP for Margao and Fatorda is set to undergo major changes under the newly constituted South Goa Planning and Development Authority.
The previous drafts ODP for Margao and Fatorda was flatly rejected by the Goa Forward Party, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and also the Ponda MLA alleging that the drafts were prepares with consultation with the local bodies.
The Goa Forward Party is part of the Government now and plans to redo the entire exercise of preparing ODP in consultation of the local bodies.
Allegations of major land conversions in the draft were made and an NGO had approached the High Court to stall the same. The High Court then stopped the ODP as it found the accusations of the petitioner prima facie true.
Now, the newly appointed SGPDA Chairman Renuka D’Silva has in her first address to the media after the authority meeting has spoken of protecting and rejuvenating the heritage of the town.
“There are several green belts in the Margao town especially the Monte Hill which are the oxygen regenerators of the town and will be protected in the ODP,” said Renuka. It is interesting to see the authority chairman eyeing the Monte Hill for protection as the Goa Forward has been active in stopping a hill cutting allegedly having been undertaken by a developer close to the Margao MLA.
Sriram Raiturkar, a Margao based RTI activist, said, “Other than the rehabilitation land in Comba there are no other changes in the recent ODP and was just a copy paste from the past.”
While the SGPDA now enters the stage of re-doing the ODP, there are several expectations of the Madgaonkars which they have been waiting to express.
A senior citizen Madhusudan Verlekar said, “The ODP has to be made keeping in mind the betterment of the housing developers. The Goa Forward which opposed the ODP earlier is in-charge of these changes now and all eyes are now set on how they do it.”
Digambar Kamat said, “Our entire opposition was on the wrong methodology adopted in formulating the Draft ODP and now it will be redrafted with consultation of the local bodies.”
The new authority has paid special attention to the factors like parking problems and its solutions through the ODP, preservation of heritage structures and areas starting from Old market and extending the same to the entire jurisdiction and also the protection of buyers of the living spaces through the changes like post occupancy audits and others.
The NGO that had earlier filed a petition and stalled the ODP is now in loggerheads with the TCP minister over the Sonsodo issue.
