the goan I network
PANAJI
Bowing to severe pressure and uproar at several gram sabhas across the State, the Pramod Sawant-led government on Tuesday withdrew the controversial order notifying 56 villages as urban areas.
A statement released by the government cited anxiety amongst the public over the urban status to villages. “The notification has caused anxiety amongst the public. The public is also worried because the issue of notification of villages as ‘urban areas’ may have certain implications under other laws. Considering the public concerns, the government has decided to withdraw the order with immediate effect”, the release stated.
However, the government sought to justify the notification saying it was issued based on the 2011 census.
“The Revenue Department had notified 56 revenue villages as urban areas under Section 2(38) of Goa Land Revenue Code 1968 (LRC). The Revenue Department had also clarified that the 56 villages are census towns as per census 2011. The notification adopted revenue villages which are the census town as urban areas without any additional criteria”, the
statement reads.
As per the census guidelines, a census town is defined as an area having a population of more than 5000 and with at least having 70 per cent male working population engaged in non-agriculture activities and a population density of at least 400 sq kms. Under the LRC, notification of any village as urban area only affects the process of assessment of land revenue and this classification does not change any building or infrastructure guidelines as far as the Revenue Department is concerned”, the statement further said.
It may be recalled that the controversial notification echoed at several gram sabhas across the State with members demanding immediate
