Coastal backlash over Section 39A Calangute hill conversion proposals

MAPUSA
As St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar continues his indefinite fast demanding the scrapping of Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, nearly 800 residents of coastal Calangute constituency have risen in protest against a series of land conversions proposed under the very same provision.
In a strong show of public opposition, citizens from Calangute and Arpora-Nagoa have signed a joint petition objecting to the proposed change of zoning of over 65,000 square metres of hill slopes and natural cover land to settlement zones. The objections have been formally submitted to the Town and Country Planning Department.
The lands in question include Survey Nos. 254/1 (Part), 260/5, 266/2 and 76/0 in Calangute village, largely situated on Baga Hill, and Survey No. 57/1A (Plots 1, 3, 5 and 6) in Arpora-Nagoa. These properties are currently classified as natural cover, no development slope (NDS), orchard or agricultural land under the Regional Plan 2021.
As per the recommendations placed before the TCP Board under Section 39A, a total of 65,310 sq m has been proposed for conversion to settlement zone.
Among the major parcels is Survey No. 254/1 at Baga Hill, measuring 19,625 sq m and owned by M/s Coastal Retreat LLP. The land is notified as natural cover in the Regional Plan and is also listed as a private forest by the forest department, yet 19,415 sq m has been recommended for a change of zone.
Similarly, large portions of Survey Nos. 260/5 and 266/2 – owned by hospitality and real estate firms – have been proposed for conversion despite being categorised as natural cover and NDS. Survey No. 76/0, admeasuring 24,076 sq m and classified as natural cover and orchard, has 21,000 sq m proposed for settlement zoning.
In Arpora-Nagoa, plots under Survey No. 57/1A at Arpora Hill – owned by private developers – have been recommended for full conversion from natural cover/NDS to settlement.
Residents have termed the move a “systematic dilution” of the Regional Plan 2021 and alleged that Section 39-A is being misused to favour private builder interests at the cost of fragile hill ecosystems.
They argue that Baga Hill and the surrounding slopes form an ecologically sensitive coastal belt that plays a crucial role in groundwater recharge, natural drainage and climate balance. Conversions, they warn, will accelerate hill cutting, increase flood and landslide risks, strain civic infrastructure and permanently alter the coastal landscape.
The gram sabha of Arpora-Nagoa, in a resolution passed on February 22, 2026, has unanimously rejected all zoning change applications under Section 39A within its jurisdiction and resolved to oppose the proposed conversions.
The twin developments – an MLA on fast and coastal villagers mobilising in large numbers – have brought Section 39A back into sharp focus, with critics demanding its complete scrapping and warning that continued hill conversions could push Goa’s coastal villages to an ecological tipping point.
Residents have urged the TCP Board to reject the proposals outright and retain the existing land-use classifications, warning that any approval will be opposed through democratic and legal means.