Over 10.9 lakh sq m rolled back under Section 39A; objections invited within 30 days
PANAJI
In a major decision, the State government has reverted over 10.90 lakh square metres of land in Pernem taluka to No-Development Zone (NDZ) by invoking provisions of Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act. This is the first instance of land being reverted to NDZ under the section since its introduction two years ago.
The TCP Board, chaired by Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane, approved the change of zone for a total area of 10,90,005 sq m during its meeting held on April 21. The land parcels, located in the villages of Mandrem, Chopdem and Arambol, were earlier classified under categories such as settlement, orchard and other uses in the Regional Plan 2021.
According to the notification, four land parcels comprising mixed classifications—including partly settlement, partly orchard, partly natural cover with no-development slope, partly natural cover under irrigation command area, and portions marked as crematorium, nallah and playground—have now been approved to be converted entirely into NDZ.
The department has invited objections and suggestions from the public within 30 days of the notification over its decision.
In its order, the TCP Department stated that the decision was taken after scrutinising the proposals based on the scrutiny report. “The Goa Town and Country Planning Board, in its 231st meeting held on April 21, 2026, has approved the said proposals,” the notification said.
The move comes amid ongoing concerns over large-scale zone changes in Pernem taluka. Earlier in March, the government had kept on hold 21 cases of zone changes under Section 39A, covering a total area of 2,36,366 sq m, following objections raised by Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar.
Arolkar had submitted a representation to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant alleging that nearly 60 lakh sq m of land across 238 properties in Pernem had been converted under Section 39A. He claimed that several of these properties belonged to individuals from outside Goa, including Delhi, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and that conversions were being carried out rapidly based on applications submitted by landowners.
He had further alleged that no-development zones, eco-sensitive areas, private forests and agricultural lands were among those converted under the pretext of correcting “inadvertent errors” in the Regional Plan 2021.
