PANJIM: Even as the clamour for scrapping the Regional Plan 2021 grows louder, Town and Country Plan Minister Vijai Sardesai on Wednesday admitted that RP 2021 which was prepared after a “tedious” process has been operationalised.
This, the TCP Minister, said has been done to give justice to the people whose land zoning was changed. “We need planned development, we have put things in place but a clear-cut stand is required. The RP 2021 was not created by me, the Congress government was in power that time,” he charged and said that the opposition had demanded that RP 2021 be put into operation.
“We have operationalised RP 2021 now but let me assure there will be checks and balances in place and everything is not in toto. We have rejected 20 per cent cases,” he stated, adding, “I understand RP 2021 was a big and “tedious” exercise. But there was injustice meted out to people which has to be changed.”
“For clarity Regional Plan is operationalised and on case-to-case basis. It is not operationalised just for sake of it but to grant justice to people,” he said adding that to grant justice to the people they have brought an amendment to the Act.
Sardesai said that land is the most precious thing in the State today. “If your settlement land is converted to orchard or NDZ, you are gone, you have nothing left,” Sardesai said.
Giving figures of the Regional Plan 2021, the TCP minister said that those shouting to save land must also look into what has been demanded by people. “Panchayats from all 12 talukas demand additional 18 cr sq mt approximately of land to be converted to settlement besides individuals had demanded another 40 cr sq meters of land to be converted,” he said.
Sardesai continued, “But the committee for RP 2021 converted 11,016 hectares of new area to settlement. This was called the policy of rationalisation.” He added that 7630 hec (7 cr sq mt) were shown as orchard which was settlement in RP 2001.
The TCP Minister said that the RP 2021 has some good and some bad things. “Hence we have decided to implement the good from the plan,” he stated.
About the protests against illegalities, he said, “I have told this Assembly that 1 cr orchard land has been converted. Where was the Avaaz then?” He said that he can assure the House that no more orchard land will be converted. “We have come across some 90-odd cases out of which we have registered FIRs against 75,” he said.
On Delhiites building farmhouses in Goa, he said, the department has now made it mandatory that the farmhouses must be built in 20,000 sq mts of land and not 5000 sq. “This has been done to discourage farmhouses,” he said.
Taking on the opposition Congress, Sardesai said, “The party needs issues to misguide people. He also said, “The corruption charges levelled against TCP are unsubstantiated.”
