MAPUSA
While accepting that any wrongly converted land in the Regional Plan 2021 should be investigated, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo on Friday mooted village-wise planning while forming the new regional plan in future.
Lobo also stressed the need to correct errors in the existing building laws.
“Village-wise planning is required to be done in future planning of Goa. The people of the village and the panchayat body should decide how they want their village to be developed. Any architects, engineers, qualified enviromentalists, farmers etc in the village should be consulted. Village-wise planning should be done while finalising the new RP,” Lobo said
He said the term of RP 2021 was over and it was time to start planning for a new regional plan.
The Calangute MLA was addressing the queries of journalists at the sidelines of a function in Parra.
Continuing, Lobo said RP 2021 came with its set of controversies and the then CM late Manohar Parrikar had kept it in abeyance when the BJP government came to power in 2012.
He said when the RP 2021 was taken up for discussion in 2017 it was decided that all marshy and low-lying land should be kept out of the ambit of the regional plan.
“Every plan has some controversies or the other. The (TCP) minister said he will investigate. Let him investigate. And what he wants to actually do he will show it. He said he will present it in the assembly...,” he said.
“It there is a scam in the Regional Plan 2021 then there should be an investigation on it,” he added.
According to the Calangute MLA, whatever corrections have to be done in the existing building laws have to be carried out, come what may.
“Whatever corrections should be done in the existing building laws must be executed. Architects, engineers and people who have knowledge about architecture like ex-town planners should give their inputs,” he said.
The State government which has proposed sweeping changes in the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations had invited objections from the public on the new amendments.
Several NGOs and even village panchayats have been very vocal in opposing the amendments to the building laws, specially fearing concrete structures in ‘no development zones’ as proposed in the amendment.
