PANAJI
Citing “many discrepancies” the Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane has decided to overhaul the processes of preparing outline development plans (ODPs), suspending the plans of Calangute-Candolim, Arpora-Nagoa, Parra and Vasco and instructing the PDAs to restart work on the ODPs of Panaji, Kadamba Plateau, Mapusa, Margao and Ponda.
Rane said, the ODPs of Candolim-Calangute, Arpora-Nagoa, Parra and Vasco-Da-Gama have been suspended for sixty days, during which these will be revised.
Simultaneously, the TCP department has issued an order under sub-section 1 of section 132 of the TCP Act directing the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority (GPPDA), North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) to keep on hold the ongoing processes and restart them afresh related to the ‘draft ODPs’ of Panaji, Kadamba Plateau (Greater Panaji), Mapusa, Margao and Ponda.
Speaking to the media, Rane said, that there were “many discrepancies” which led to the decision to suspend the ODPs of Candolim-Calangute, Arpora-Nagoa-Parra which had the “maximum discrepancies” and Vasco-Da-Gama.
These ODPs have been suspended by invoking powers under section 40 of the TCP Act, he said.
He said a fresh notification is being issued suspending the ODPs for two months (60 days) during which time these plans will be modified.
Rane said all these ODPs will be examined in detail and accordingly revised by a committee headed by a Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik and comprising the senior town planners of North and South Goa besides the joint secretary of CREDAI, chairman of the Goa branch of the Indian Institute of Architects, Chairman of the Goa branch of the Institute of Engineers, Institute of Town Planners and the member-secretaries of the NGPDA and MGPDA.
This committee has been set a time frame of 60 days to submit its report.
During the two-month period that the ODPs are being revised the areas of Calangute-Candolim, Arpora-Nagoa-Parra and Vasco planning areas will be governed by the Regional Plan 2021.
All the ODPs, barring the one related to the Kadamba plateau which came under the GPPDA, had been notified by the previous government in 2021.
The process of notifying ODPs goes through an elaborate process of first preparing a draft, seeking public suggestions/objections and the respective PDAs deciding on either incorporating or rejecting the changes suggested by the public. They are then notified after the State government accepts the plan.
Wednesday’s decision to overhaul all the ODPs is seen as an attempt by Rane to assert his authority in the domain which has come under his direct control for the first time when he was allocated the TCP portfolio.
The department is considered one of the most controversial areas of governance in Goa and has a direct and overarching bearing on the construction and real estate sector.
Rane on his part, however, said the decisions are aimed at ensuring “total transparency” and taken after interacting with members of all the representative bodies of architects, engineers and town planners besides CREDAI.
He said, he has decided to review all aspects of the TCP department’s functioning from scratch and expects to make it people-friendly by the end of the year.
Rane also said that representatives of professional bodies like the IIA, IIE, Institute of Town Planners, CREDAI and others will be incorporated into the Town and Country Planning Board as “special invitees”. He also said that representatives of these bodies will also be co-opted on the various PDAs.
