PANAJI
Minister for Town & Country Planning Vishwajit Rane has withdrawn the Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2024, tabled last week to protect land conversions from any sort of judicial scrutiny. The withdrawal, tabled on Monday, came two days after objections from the BJP Core Committee and backlash from environmentalists.
The Bill proposed an amendment to Section 19 of the original TCP Act to ensure that Outline Development Plans (ODPs) remained valid even if their respective planning areas were withdrawn. Another amendment sought to finalise development permissions granted by the TCP department, limiting the powers of other State authorities to challenge these permissions under its laws.
Moreover, the validation clause aimed to validate all permissions, zoning and conversion reports issued by the TCP department or other statutory authorities under the Candolim-Calangute and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra ODPs, many of which are currently sub-judice before the Bombay High Court at Goa.
The amendment also sought to bar courts from entertaining any suits or proceedings challenging such approvals, which was one of the reasons the environmentalists and NGOs demanded its withdrawal to save Goa from Wayanad like destruction.
This prompted the BJP Core Committee, led by Goa desk in-charge Ashish Sood, to discuss the issue on Saturday during which nearly all the members supported the Bill’s withdrawal. The Cabinet on Monday too supported the withdrawal.
Besides this controversial Bill, Rane -- also holding Health and Urban Development portfolios -- withdrew the Goa Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Goa Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the City of Panaji Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, hours before it came up for discussion and passage.
Earlier during the discussion on demands, MLA Venzy Viegas alleged the government was hell-bent to convert the land while seeking withdrawal of approvals granted for mega projects that result in hill cutting.
“The amendments in the TCP Act should have to correct… but it is being used to convert the lands. Bhutami Project which has been permitted should be cancelled and land diverted as private forest. Likewise, Lodha should be asked to remove their advertisement of “Conquer Goa” and the DLF’s Reis Magos project should be scrapped,” he demanded.
Without referring to the TCP amendment bill, MLA Michael Lobo brought to the attention of the House the Wayanad landslide urging the government to protect the green cover and hills.
