Team Herald
PANJIM: Goencho Avaaz has reiterated its demand to scrap Section 16B of the Town and Country Planning Act (TCP) that allows zone changes on a case-to-case basis, alleging that the law sounds death knell on the ecology.
Addressing media persons on Monday, the forum has said that it will fight it out before the right authority and get the law scrapped in the interest of the State.
Goencho Avaaz member Roshan Mathias alleged that the law has been enacted to help a few individuals, private companies, which is leading to massive corruption in getting the land use change.
“The law is only going to help the real estate lobby at the cost of the environment. We will pursue the matter in the appropriate forum and fight with all its might to get the law scrapped in the interest of Goa and Goans,” he said.
A team from Goencho Avaaz led by its co-convenor Swapnesh Sherlekar claimed to have carried out extensive investigation with respect to each of 40 cases, where TCP has allowed zone change and notified the same.
“The team has decisively concluded that blatant violations while giving approval for change of land use,” Sherlekar said.
Pointing out to some of the cases in villages of Curca, Cavelossim, Latambarse, Mandur, Cortalim, Anjuna, etc Sherlekar alleged that there is utter defiance of environmental laws to bulldoze the change of land zone be it no development slopes, forest areas or command areas.
