MARGAO, JUNE 27
Will Margao opt for a freeze in development in the existing city and opt for a new commercial centre to act as a new central business district of the future in a bid to rid the Commercial capital of congestion?
Answers to the crucial question whether the city will opt for a freeze on development and a new commercial hub at the Ambaji-Davondem area will be decided at a meeting of the Margao Municipal Council scheduled on Monday.
An unwilling Margao Civic body has included in its agenda the City Development Plan (CDP) prepared by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC). The CDP has received a nod from the GSIDC Board and the government has been pushing the Margao Civic body to give a green signal for the Plan – which has raised many an eyebrow in the corridors of the Municipal body.
Amongst the host of suggestions mooted by the CDP to “decongest” the core city is freeze development in the city. The plan has suggested a stop to issuance of any permission for any building or for expansion of any existing building within the city. Also, the plan has suggested no change in use should be permitted within Margao city and regulations made to enforce proposals.
The CDP has suggested development of a new commercial centre with excellent infrastructure and an enabling environment to act as a new central business district of the future. The development of this alternative magnet, the plan says, will ease pressure on the existing infrastructure, adding that the alternate magnet can be coupled with certain incentives to attract people from the city core towards it.
For those affected by the no development regime on the Margao city, the plan has recommended that they be allowed to convert unutilised FSI into Transferable Development Rights (TDR). These TDRs then can be used at the proposed new business hub on any plot for construction over and above the FSI available as a virtue of purchase of that plot. The plan says this measure is an incentive for the affected parties, adding that the government may provide other incentives which it deems possible in lieu of the TDR.
The plan has raised many questions in the corridors of the Civic body. During the interaction with the stake holders, MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho had maintained that the freezing of development within the city and moving it outside would not help solve the problem as all important buildings will move out eventually and the demands shifts to these new areas. He had also raised the issue of agricultural land with regard to the proposed development of a new commercial development.
He had also emphasised on the fact that decentralisation is very important within the purview of the 74th Constitutional Amendment.
Questions are raised in Municipal circles whether the increased FAR mooted in the plan for people affected by the no development regime will in reality help the city’s decongestion or benefit the powerful builder’s lobby.
Apart from the freeze in development and a new commercial hub, the CDP has suggested construction of a ring road and western bypass, besides shifting of petrol pumps and city bus stand from the city’s central core. Sadly, it’s over a decade now since the proposals to build a ring road and shift petrol pumps was passed by the authorities, but the ground reality remains unchanged till date.
Incidentally, though the GSIDC through Architect Rahul Deshpande – who has drafted the CDP – made a power point presentation for the benefit of Margao Councillors – many a city father is still unaware of the intricacies of the Plan and its effect on the city’s future planning.
