Confusion over land-use move as stakeholders seek clarity
MARGAO
As the ghost of Section 39A came to haunt residents of Cavelossim, Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane has allayed apprehensions, saying the notice issued by the TCP department in respect of a parcel of land in the coastal village is in fact land restoration and not conversion.
As the TCP public notice has raised eyebrows in local circles, Cavelossim Sarpanch Dixon Vaz too wondered whether this is perhaps the first time in history that, instead of conversion of a paddy field to settlement, the TCP has set in motion the process to revert paddy fields to a no-development zone.
In the meantime, the Benaulim Block Congress Committee has demanded full disclosure of all survey and subdivision details related to the proposed land use changes, an immediate halt to all processes initiated under Section 39A, a uniform policy decision to scrap Section 39A across the State, and protection of agricultural land, orchards, mangroves, and ecologically sensitive zones from arbitrary conversion.
When the media sought comment from the TCP Minister on the public notice issued under Section 39A in respect of the land at Cavelossim village, Rane said, “The exercise set in motion in Cavelossim village is not land conversion but restoration. This is not a change of zone, but reverting land to its original state. One cannot convert paddy fields in certain areas.”
Saying that Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas had also called him to find out about the TCP public notice in respect of Cavelossim, the TCP Minister said he had told the Benaulim MLA that the exercise initiated by the TCP is land restoration and not conversion.
When the media sought a reaction from Cavelossim Sarpanch Dixon Vaz on the TCP notice, he said neither the panchayat nor the landowner had knowledge about the TCP move. “After reading the public notice, I had contacted the landowner, who made it clear that he has not applied for declaring his land, admeasuring one lakh square metres, as a no-development zone,” he said.
When his attention was drawn to the TCP Minister’s statement that the TCP’s exercise is not land conversion but restoration of land to its original state, Vaz said, “What the Minister is saying is history when land is being converted to a no-development zone.”
Meanwhile, addressing the media, the Benaulim Block Congress Committee has strongly objected to the recent public notice issued by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department under Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, proposing changes in land use in Cavelossim.
“We express serious concern over the lack of transparency in the said notice. Crucial details such as subdivision numbers have been concealed, making it impossible for affected stakeholders to clearly identify the exact parcels of land under consideration. This omission raises serious questions about the intent and fairness of the process,” Benaulim Block Congress president Keith Gracias added.
In the public notice, the TCP has recommended a change in zone to a no-development zone for an area admeasuring 103,875 square metres, consisting partly of paddy field, partly orchard, partly mangrove, and partly settlement in Cavelossim village.
