MAPUSA
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo who was instrumental in including the villages of Parra and Arpora-Nagoa in the Planning Development Area (PDA), on Monday, said that he did not view the removal of these villages from the planning areas as a setback.
Lobo also said that some hills in Parra and Arpora-Nagoa were converted and had to be reverted back, which with this decision will be set right.
“There is no setback as long as the hills are taken care of. Parra hill which was 100 per cent settlement in 2021, we had brought it down to 30 to 40 metres. With this decision that will be taken care of. I had spoken to him (TCP minister) in the assembly and he had assured that no hills will be allowed for conversion,” Lobo said, speaking to journalists in Calangute.
He said in the ODP some hills were also converted in Arpora which needed to go back to its original position.
“I had spoken to him (TCP minister) in the assembly that some hills were converted in Arpora which should be treated as green area/orchard. So we are happy with the decision,” he said.
The Calangute MLA reiterated that the sole aim to bring these villages in PDA was to draw a new plan so that the greenery in these villages was maintained.
“We had no intention to bring high rise buildings in these areas. It’s not a coastal belt like Calangute. We only allow ground plus one villa here. The hill which was converted 100 percent earlier had to be reduced,” he said.
“That is why the area was brought under the planning area and the whole area of around 2 lakh sq mt was removed from the settlement and classified as an orchard,” he added.
As the chairman of the North Goa Planning and Development Authority, in 2018, Lobo had made a strong pitch to include Parra and Arpora-Nagoa villages in the PDA.
He had then said that the floor area ratio (FAR) for Parra, Arpora and Nagoa will be increased from 60 per cent to 80 per cent in the outline development plan (ODP) and the aim was to promote home-stays.
He said with the increased FAR, people in these villages will be able to construct ground-plus-two structures.
“Since the coastal belt has been saturated, the plan is to accommodate tourists into the interior villages,” Lobo had said.
