PANAJI
Dozens of citizens and activists gathered at the Institute Piedade hall on Saturday evening to object to multiple public building redevelopment projects planned by the State government in the capital.
The projects, which propose enhanced FARs and taller structures to house hotels and other activities of commercial character, were criticised as threats to Panaji’s skyline and heritage character.
The meeting, styled “Panjim: Capital City in Peril”, was a follow‑up to an earlier similar exercise aimed to draw up an action plan to press the government for a rethink.
Participants said unchecked redevelopment would overwhelm the city’s fragile urban fabric and heritage feel.
Speakers cited redevelopment projects including the iconic Junta House, government quarters in Tonca and St Inez among others. They argued that these plans, if executed, would erase Panaji’s distinctive identity.
Among those who participated in the discussions were CCP councillor Jack Sukhija, former councillor Patricia Pinto, Goa Bachao Abhiyan president Dr Sabina Martins, travel and tourism professional Aloo Gomes Pereira, activist‑writer Chryselle D’Silva Dias, historians Prajal Sakhardande and Amita Kanekar, and dozens of residents from the city and its periphery.
The group resolved to broadbase the exercise by involving architects, planning experts, heritage conservationists and professionals from related fields with the aim to prepare a blueprint as an alternative to the government’s redevelopment plans, one that retains Panaji’s character while addressing civic needs.
