the goan I network
Panjim
Condemning what they called the “large scale land conversions” that have been taking place under Section 16 B of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, the Congress came down heavily on the TCP Department on Thursday.
Saying that if they were elected to power, they would scrutinise each and every case of land conversion that has taken place, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said that they would reverse these, if they found that the conversions were done illegally.
Chodankar said that a committee would be formed under architect Tulio D’Souza, and the committee would look at each case where permission for conversion was given on a “suitcase to suitcase” basis.
He alleged that meetings to decide land conversion on ‘suitcase basis’ were held in a bungalow near Circuit House, Altinho.
“Land conversion is taking place overnight at the discretion of the Minister and the TCP Board. Moreover, the TCP Department is advertising through the media, motivating those interested to come forth and convert their land. This when there are 8,000 pending objections to land conversions and a case pending in court,” said Chodankar.
The Congress also slammed the TCP Board for holding meetings which they claimed were just a sham.
“The 163rd board meeting which started on August 16 has been adjourned four times, and is still not over,” said Chodankar, pointing out that if a meeting is incomplete, minutes have no weight.
Natural reserve land, cultivable land, paddy fields, no development zones are all being converted at an alarming speed and Goa will soon be lost, said Chodankar.
Continuing his tirade against the TCP Department, Chodankar said that though official rates for the sale of land have been notified, land was going for Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 per square meter unofficially.
The Opposition party alleged that every Tom, Dick and Harry who was putting forth an application for conversion, their applications were being cleared, without the proper guidelines being followed.
Meanwhile Tulio D’Souza said that land under cultivation was not being cultivated under forms 1 and 14, and that the TCP Department was doing nothing to promote agriculture in the state.
Admitting that Velim MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues was a part of the Board, Chodankar said that his opinion did not hold much weight in the board as he was the only member from the Opposition Party, but that they would find out what objections had been raised by Rodrigues.
