|
GBA Press Releases
ONE GOA, ONE PLAN
GBA Press Release:
16th March, 2010
GBA and village groups have decided to intensify action for "One Goa, One Plan"
The Chief Minister has given assurances to the delegation of GBA and other groups working on participatory planning to finalize the Regional Plan for Goa 2021 by Sept 2010 along with immediate freezing of NOCs or permissions for construction/development on 'Eco-Sensitive Zones' [marked ESZ- 1 & 2 in draft RP 2021] and 'No Development Zones' [NDZ]. There was, however, no firm commitment that the Regional Plan would be made effective across Goa and include even PDA/ODP areas to truly make it 'ONE GOA-ONE PLAN', where the Regional Plan is supreme and followed by all entities.
Multiple entry points for 'developers', such as ODP’s (Outline Development Plans) and Amendments 16&16A to the Goa TCP Act, undermine the Regional Plan 2021 today, even as the Draft Regional Plan 2021 has not been officially recognized by the Town & Country Planning Act 1974 as the master plan for Goa as it is stated to lack legal validity for implementation.
1 - GBA and village groups demand that the Draft Goa TCP Act of 1998 (prepared by the Goa Town & Country Planning Dept and discussed with legislators and others in 1998) be introduced in the coming budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly as a replacement for the outdated TCP Act 1974. The requisite amendments should be made therein for recognition of the Regional Plan 2021 and the inclusion of people's participation as well as the protection of Eco-Sensitive Zones.
The GBA has decided to appeal to all the MLAs, across party lines, to facilitate introduction of the said BIll and set in motion the process of repealing and replacing the existing Goa Town and Country Planning Act with a new one that is in consonance with the 73rd and 74th amendment enshrined in Article 243 of the Constitution of India.
2 - It has been decided to follow-up on the assurances (2 weeks after assurances on 19th March ) to check whether instructions have been issued to the TCP officers to stop development/constructions on Eco-Sensitive Zones as promised on 04 March to be done in 2 weeks, by convening a meeting of the Goa TCP Board.
Complaints of violations will be taken up with the Chief Minister if not acted upon by the Town Planning Department and we call upon all villagers and concerned groups to record details of transgressions to bring them to the notice of the Chief Town Planner, Town & Country Planning Department with a copy to GBA. Transgressions may include large projects sanctioned on weak infrastructure such as non-existent or less-than-minimum required road widths.
3 - The people must receive a progress report of the Regional Plan every two weeks as promised by the CTP in the presence of the CM and all data pertaining to the Draft Regional Plan 2021 [including the 8000 plus individual suggestions] must be made available on the TCP website and be transparent for public at any time.
4 - We demand that till finalization of the RP2021, VP 3 rules should apply in all villages that have clearly asked for it. In case of disputed status, the VP status representing lower built-up area should apply until the matter is resolved.
5 – The Regional Plan 2021 must be kept open to public for a period of 30 days before final notification with explanatory notes allowing for possible violations to be spotted by concerned villages.
GBA demands peoples' participation, transparency in planning and calibrated development as a key to protection of village identity.
We await Government action on these matters and will persist with our demands until they are met.
Reboni Saha
Secretary – Goa Bachao Abhiyan
|
|
