MARGAO: Village Groups of Goa (VGG) has accused the BJP government of establishing a dictatorship in the State by murdering democracy.
VGG listed “perfect examples” of dictatorship, such the government’s decisions to formulate the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) Act, to classify the coconut tree as a shrub and to pass the Goa Town and Country Planning Amendment Bill, 2015, which allows constructions in eco-sensitive zones.
“On one hand, the government has turned a deaf ear to the repeated demands from all sections of society to incorporate the 73rd and 74th amendment in the Panchayati Raj Act and to amend the Town and Country Act to accommodate people’s participatory planning. On the other hand, it has arbitrarily passed anti-people bills though ordinances or through the legislative route,” said Zarinha Da Cunha, VGG president.
She continued, “The Government has formulated an un-democratic and disastrous IPB Act, which overrides all existing laws in the State, including the Regional Plan, TCP Act, Panchayati Raj Act, Land Revenue Code, CRZ regulations, etc.”
VGG labelled the IPB Act as ‘draconian’ and pointed out that it gives the IPB blanket powers to approve projects anywhere in the State, including in eco-sensitive zones, in the guise of tourism, development and employment.
VGG has also criticised
