Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas reading the resolution at a meeting held at Dando grounds, Benaulim on Saturday. People raise their hands in support of a resolution demanding scrapping of 39A and Non-Developable Area. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
An impressive public meeting held at Dando Grounds in Benaulim on Saturday unanimously demanded the scrapping of the controversial Section 39-A amendment to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act and called for the preparation of a new Regional Plan to safeguard Goa’s ecological and cultural fabric.
Braving rains, a large number of people turned up for the meeting, convened by the Benaulim gram sabha and Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, as it witnessed overwhelming public support, with attendees unanimously endorsing a resolution by raising their hands.
The gathering also resolved to launch a signature campaign to collect around 5,000 signatures from Benaulim constituents seeking the withdrawal of Section 39-A and the proposed “Non-Developable Area” (NDA) notification. Organisers further announced plans to expand the movement to the neighbouring Nuvem constituency from next week before taking the campaign across Salcete and eventually the rest of Goa.
The resolution expressed strong objections to the introduction of the term “Non-Developable Area” in the government’s notifications, describing it as undefined and ambiguous. According to the resolution, the NDA classification could potentially undermine the safeguards provided under the 2023 legislation by creating a pathway to bypass existing protections.
It further alleged that the NDA provisions could enable non-agriculturists to purchase or develop ecologically sensitive paddy fields and raised concerns that the government could eventually acquire such lands, leading to the takeover of privately owned agricultural fields.
Addressing the gathering, MLA Venzy Viegas called for sustained public pressure on the BJP-led government to withdraw Section 39-A and the NDA proposal.
“We have to build a movement across Salcete and Goa to awaken people to the dangers posed by these controversial amendments,” Viegas said, urging people to unite to protect Goa from what he described as further environmental destruction.
Appealing for political unity, Viegas said a non-BJP government that assumes office in 2027 would make the repeal of Section 39-A and the NDA its first decision.
Former Benaulim MLA Radharao Gracias also stressed that removing the BJP government was essential to reversing the controversial policies. “If you remove the BJP government, everything else will fall into place. We have to unite to bring about a change in government in 2027,” Gracias said.
He urged Viegas to take the lead in bringing together opposition parties and warned that citizens would be compelled to stage dharnas outside the residences of Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar, Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and AAP Goa president Valmiki Naik if the opposition failed to unite.
“Let us give the three opposition parties a 30-day deadline to come together and prepare a roadmap to defeat the BJP. If they fail, people should hold peaceful dharnas outside the residences of their leaders,” he said.
Cavelossim Parish Priest Fr Eusico Pereira highlighted the importance of protecting nature and the environment for future generations. Referring to the recent withdrawal of a proposal under Section 39-A in Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s Sanquelim constituency, Fr Pereira remarked that Sawant was “not just the Chief Minister of Sanquelim, but of the whole of Goa.”
He called on people across the State to unite in preserving Goa’s remaining natural heritage for posterity.
Benaulim Sarpanch Xavier Pereira, former Sarpanch Royla Fernandes, social activists Santan Pereira and Fidol Pereira, among others, also addressed the gathering and voiced support for the resolution.
