PANAJI
The powers to prepare land-use zoning plans under the Town and Country Planning Act, has now been formally extended to areas beyond the jurisdiction of the 'planning areas' administered by the various Planning and Development Authorities (PDAs).
The move enabled by an amendment to the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, passed by the Goa legislative assembly in the monsoon session was notified in the official gazette after the assent granted by Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai.
The amendment creates a new entity 'local planning area' which can be carved out from any locale in the State.
Formerly, zoning of areas was singularly done at the time of formulation of the State's Regional Plan and the new amendment now empowers the TCP department to prepare 'zoning plans' for any area, village or town which are not covered under the Outline Development Plans (ODPs) of the planning areas under PDAs.
The amendment however stipulates that preparing the zoning plans shall adhere to the 'broad framework' of the Regional Plan and will have to take local authority on board.
The zoning plans for these 'local planning areas' according to the amendment must detail specific areas for housing, shopping centres, industrial areas, civic centres, educational and cultural institutions, rain water harvesting, garbage management, cattle pounds and other public utilities besides control of architectural features, elevation and frontage of buildings and structures.
It also suggests that the zoning plans may designate areas indicating and providing proposals for transferable development right, transferable
development right for posterity, accommodation reservation or any other
similar technique to promote planned development.
It may be recalled that a meeting was had to spread awareness about the proposed amendments to the TCP Act and the need to object to them by people from across the State.
