Urges govt to implement Regional Plan 2021 across the State
PANAJI
The Congress party on Tuesday welcomed the Bombay High Court’s decision to set aside the Outline Development Plans (ODPs) for Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra, and asked the State government to follow the Regional Plan 2021 for development in these villages.
At a press conference, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Chief Amit Patkar said the party welcomes the High Court’s decision and demanded that the government immediately implement the Regional Plan not only in these five villages but across Goa.
“We will make sure that various anti-people, anti-Goa amendments and Ordinance issued by the BJP government are scrapped once we form the government in 2027,” he said.
Earlier, Congress MP Captain Viriato Fernandes pointed out that it was the Governor of Goa who signed the controversial Ordinance in March 2024, allowing what he called the destruction of Goa.
Fernandes said that during the draft stage of the ODP, over 8.89 lakh square metres of land in these five villages was converted. After the ODP was notified, zone changes were made for 16.94 lakh square metres.
On Monday, the High Court ruled that the two ODPs — Calangute-Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra — cannot be applied, and that the five villages of Calangute, Candolim, Arpora, Nagoa, and Parra will not be governed by them. However, the Court stayed the implementation of its order for four weeks, on the condition that the government ensures no permissions are granted and no construction or development takes place in these villages.
