the goan I network
MARGAO
Calling upon the real estate developer to maintain status quo and keep on hold all development atop the Monte Hill heritage area till further orders, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday mooted “scenic easements” in the TCP regulations to maintain heritage and scenic beauty of a particular area and at the same time compensate the land owner with rights on the lines of Transfer of Development Right (TDR) policy.
The TCP Minister descended atop the Monte Hill along with SGPDA Chairperson Dr Renuka Da Silva, Member Secretary Ashok Kumar, Margao Municipal ward councillor Glen Andrade and others to personally see the ground reality as fears and concerns were raised in certain quarters that the green area along the Chapel-TB Sanatorium stretch may disappear after the clearance of vegetation to make way for constructions of compound walls.
While the builder Dilip Kurtarkar told the Minister that he had only planned to secure his property to keep anti-social elements at bay, Sardesai requested him to keep all activities on hold for the moment till the government comes out with a solution for areas such as Monte Hill “ where the scenic properties are owned by private parties, but the society at large demands conservation and protection.
The TCP Minister, however, pointed out that owners of properties such as the Monte Hill will have to be given the TDR advantage if the area is to be retained for posterity, while admitting that the sentiments of the local populace calls for retaining the heritage value of the area, fearing the mountain looks will undergo a change with the denudation of green cover.
“The problem is if we tell the builder to retain the character of the property, we will have to incentivise him. The society wants the area to be retained, but the ownership of the land is not with the society. The owner may give up the claim on his land in the interest of society only if he is given some benefits elsewhere,” Sardesai said.
To tide over such situations, the TCP Minister has suggested what is known as “scenic easements” -- a concept followed in America, which allows retaining the character of a particular area, but at the same time the owner is compensated with benefits elsewhere. “The TCP department is ready to have a look at this concept,” he said, while requesting the builder to maintain status quo till the government brings in a regulation, allowing protection to certain scenic spots and compensate the owner.
Developer maintains plans to construct compound wall dropped
MARGAO: City-based real estate developer, Dilip Kurtarkar has maintained that they had only taken up work of clearing the bushes in his property to construct a compound wall to secure his property.
Kurtarkar, however, said he has dropped plans to construct the compound following a request made by TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai.
“We cannot carry out any development in this property since this is a no development zone. We had only cleared the bushes as we had planned a compound wall in order to secure our property,” Dilip told the media at the site.
He further maintained that the bushes were cleared since the area in question was being frequented by anti-social elements, including people who misuse the property to consume drugs. “Since the area is cleared of the bushes, we now see no possibility of anti-social elements using the place for their nefarious activities,” Kurtarkar added.
