Queries raised whether it is move to avoid public backlash or if govt has shelved plans to develop areas
File photo of the agricultural fields admeasuring around 1.37 lakh square metres acquired by the Goa State Urban Development Agency around two decades ago.
MARGAO
Absence of any mention of prime properties in the Goa State Urban Development Agency’s (GSUDA) presentation on the Margao Master Plan 2041 has triggered speculation as well as concern.
During the PowerPoint presentation by the GSUDA-appointed consultant Studio Pod held last week, omission of the GSUDA acquired properties in the commercial capital has left many wondering whether the government is deliberately avoiding controversial aspects of the plan or otherwise.
In fact, questions are asked whether it’s a calculated move to avoid backlash from citizens worried about the commercial exploitation of prime urban land under the guise of a master Plan, or whether the government has shelved plans to develop these areas at least for the moment, narrowing the master plan’s scope to traffic decongestion and beautification of the commercial capital?
These and other questions have come to the fore after the power point presentation on the Master Plan for Margao kicked up an uproar, with citizens demanding concrete proposals.
When The Goan called up a GSUDA official to shed light on the consultant’s discreet move to avoid making any mention of the Agency’s prime properties during the presentation on Master plan, the official said “let the Consultant present the master plan on what is required in the city. If possible, let the consultant visit the wards to see the requirements. Development of the prime properties for infrastructural projects can be taken up separately by the government”.
The official reminded that GSUDA had appointed the consultant to propose projects in order to streamline traffic and to beautify the city to avail central funds to create the required infrastructure, ‘Certainly, GSUDA properties acquired in Margao over two decades ago cannot be mixed with the master plan for Margao”, the official added.
Notwithstanding the GSUDA official’s comment, mystery continues to shroud the consultant’s decision not to highlight projects mooted on the GSUDA acquired properties in the commercial capital, throwing a host of questions – did the consultant suo moto took the decision not to touch the projects mooted in the master plan during the presentation, or, whether the consultant was instructed to skip any discussion on the projects proposed in the master plan on the GSUDA properties. Take note, the consultant, when questioned over the omission of discussion on GSUDA property has maintained that the properties do not form part of the presentation, throwing up a question, more so when the consultant insists that the Plan or the presentation does not form part of a statutory exercise unlike the PDA’s Outline Development Plan.
