MARGAO
Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane’s announcement on suspension of the Outline Development Plans (ODP) on Wednesday has thrown up a moot question “ will the government reopen the ODP for Margao and Ponda, the third time in as many years?
The TCP Minister’s decision has come ahead of the planned programme by newly-appointed SGPDA Chairman, MLA Daji Salkar on Thursday.
Unlike other ODPs, which stands notified, the Margao and Ponda ODP had reached the stage of scrutiny of the suggestions and objections filed to the draft-ODP which was opened by the SGPDA in December last year.
The moot question remains unanswered “ will Daji Salkar and the PDA members go for a fresh process to put the ODP in place or take the ODP reopened during the stint of then MLA Wilfred D’Sa to its logical conclusion.
The SGPDA is in receipt of around 163 suggestions to the draft-ODP reopened last year. Before the panel constituted by the PDA could scrutinise the suggestions, the election code of conduct came into force, leaving the PDA with no option than to put the process on the backburner.
Incidentally, even as the stakeholders were anxiously awaiting the new chairman to take over the reigns of office to take the draft-ODP to its logical conclusion, the TCP Minister’s decision to suspend the ODPs have cast shadow on the entire process.
Will SGPDA Chairman Daji Salkar go for reopening of the ODP once again or take the ongoing process set in motion by his predecessor Wilfred D’Sa to its logical conclusion, is a question that did the rounds in city circles on Wednesday.
Incidentally, sources say ODPs normally have a 10-year horizon period as the changes in the ODP are effected taking the planning requirements for a decade. Change in political guard, however, seemed to have become the latest norm in respect of the ODPs, especially when it comes to Margao and Ponda.
Otherwise, consider this. The Margao and Ponda ODP 2028 was finalised and notified in early 2019 when the SGPDA was controlled by the Goa Forward party. Following the change in guard later that year, when a 10-member group split from the Congress to join the BJP, the ODP was once again reopened by then Chairman Wilfred D’Sa.
Objections lodged by MLAs Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai to the decision to reopen the ODPs within two years on the plea the ODPs have a horizon period of 10 years, was rejected by the government and went ahead to reopen the Margao and Ponda ODP in 2021.
