MARGAO
The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) is bracing up to take the Outline Development Plan (ODP) 2032 to a logical conclusion.
Perhaps for the first time, the SGDPA has invited bids via e-tenders to rope in a consultant to help finalise the ODP transparently and professionally. The planning body is also bracing up to hold hearings given the objections received from citizens to the draft-ODP by giving personal hearings to the citizens.
The SGPDA has floated an e-tender inviting prospective consultants to submit bids to help the PDA in finalising the plan transparently and professionally. May 13 is the last date for the prospective consultants to submit their bids, which will be opened on May 15.
PDA officials informed that the decision to rope in a consultant has been taken in line with TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane’s instructions to the planning bodies to prepare the ODPs transparently. “The process of inviting suggestions and objections to the ODP 2032 has already ended. The time has now come for the scrutiny of the objections and suggestions,” informed an official.
It was pointed out that the SGPDA has constituted a panel to carry forward the process to hear the objections and suggestions by inviting the citizens for a personal hearing of their objections.
“It has been decided to conduct the ODC exercise transparently. Every objection received by the PDA to the ODP will be scrutinised by giving the citizens a personal hearing,” the official added.
This is the second time that the PDA is on the job to finalise the Outline Development Plant for the planning areas of Margao and Ponda.
The ODP 2028 was finalized by the SGPDA headed by Dr Renuka Da Silva in early 2019 when Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai was the TCP Minister in the Manohar Parrikar government.
After the exit of Sardesai from the government in 2019, the SGDPA was presided by then Congress-turned-BJP MLA Wilfred D’Sa and the OPD was again opened for fresh objections and suggestions in 2021. The process, however, could not be taken to a logical conclusion due to the intervening election code of conduct.
However, post-2022 Assembly polls, the ODP was once again kept open for public suggestions and objections and the process has not reached the stage of hearing objections before the plan is finalized by the PDA.
