the goan I network
MARGAO
Outgoing Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister, Vijai Sardesai on Saturday demanded to know whether the new South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) chief Wilfred D’Sa wants to start his innings as head of the planning body with a litigation.
Asked to comment on Wilfred’s hints that the PDA may review the Margao ODP finalised during the tenure of outgoing SGPDA Chairperson Dr Renuka Da Silva, Sardesai demanded to know whether there’s any provision in law to review ODP which has been finalised and notified by the government. “I want to make clear that the Margao Outline Development Plan (ODP) has been prepared after complying with the planning regulations and after following the due process of law,” Sardesai said.
“The new PDA chairman should understand that government is a continuous process. When the PDA has complied with the regulation and the law in force, I wonder whether the new chairman wants to start his stint with a litigation,” he said, indicating that any decision by the planning body to review the Margao ODP would only end up in a litigation.
When his attention was drawn to the scrapping of the ODP during the tenure of then PDA chairman Mauvin Godinho, Sardesai said the ODP was scrapped after the people had pointed out discrepancies in the plan, including non-compliance of the mandatory regulations. “In our case, the plan was submitted to the local civic bodies under the law. Sufficient time was given to the people to lodge their objections and suggestions. In fact, the time period for lodging objections and suggestions was extended once,” he said, adding that the PDA had complied with the provisions of the TCP Act while finalising the ODP.
