PANAJI
These rules will govern the working of Investment Promotion Board (IPB) . The rules also say that chief minister s approval will be necessary for using sub-section (2) of section 7 of the act if the area exceeds 15,000 square meters. Sources close to the IPB said that this is to ensure that more people get their say in the matter of land conversion, if the land in question is huge. As per the Goa Investment Promotion Act , if an area is notified as Investment Promotion Area under sub-section (2) of section 7, then the provisions of other acts like Goa Municipality Act, City of the Corporation of Panaji Act, The Goa Panchayat Raj Act, The Goa Land Revenue Code, The Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act, The Goa Town and Country Planning Act and many other acts shall cease to apply. Due to this very reason, the IPB had come under heavy criticism last year, when certain NGOs raised concerns that this sub-section could be utilized for wrong reasons.
Apart from it, IPB rules also talk in detail about what should happen to investment proposals from the time they are presented to the government. The rules say that the IPB can choose to send an investment proposal to a competent authority, which, in turn, shall dispose such an application within twenty days of its receipt. The competent authority can be an expert or a consultant. Post that, the IPB shall inform the applicant within seven days from receiving an order from competent authority, rejecting or accepting the proposal.
