GIDC norms leave govt’s proposed scrapyard relocation plan in limbo

PANAJI
Over 400 illegal scrapyards continue to dot Goa, but the government’s plan to get them off unauthorised premises has hit a wall even before taking off. 
Its proposed relocation to industrial estates has run into a legal hurdle, with IDC regulations expressly barring allotment of industrial plots for scrapyards, while industrial associations have also opposed the move on safety and security grounds.
The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has made it clear that its regulations do not permit allotment of industrial plots for setting up scrapyards. This has effectively put the proposed relocation plan in a bind, leaving the government without a clear alternative to address the growing number of unauthorised scrapyards across the State.
Industrial plots off limits
“The allotment of plots to set up scrapyards is not permitted in the industrial estates set up by Goa-IDC as per the Goa-IDC (Allotment, Transfer and Sublease) Regulations, 2023,” IDC chairman Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco told The Goan.
The corporation had communicated this position to the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) as far back as September 2023. In its communication, the GIDC managing director had clarified that under the Goa Industrial Development Corporation Allotment Regulations, 2014, amended in March 2021, allotment of plots for scrapyards was not permissible in industrial estates.
Despite this regulatory position, the government had continued to explore the possibility of relocating scrapyards to industrial estates across all talukas. Under the proposal, scrapyard operators were expected to purchase plots measuring a minimum of 2,000 square metres from GIDC.
“Industrial associations had objected to the proposal and had requested that separate land be identified for scrapyards. They have suggested that such facilities should have a single entry and exit point and be equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure proper surveillance. We have already conveyed their concerns to the government,” Lourenco said.
Alternative land yet to be identified
With the industrial estate option facing resistance, the government’s efforts to find an alternative site have also failed to make much headway. The State Legislative Assembly had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the Revenue Minister nearly two years ago to examine the issue and recommend suitable locations for shifting scrapyards. However, the committee is understood to have met only once or twice, without arriving at any concrete decision.
Lourenco, who was part of the committee, said he had suggested identifying comunidade land as a possible solution. He said the committee's last decision was to explore the availability of such land for relocating scrapyards.
“Rather than identifying one large parcel of land for the entire State, identifying suitable land taluka-wise would have been a better option. Comunidade land could be considered for this purpose,” he said.
Fire NOCs pose another hurdle
Meanwhile, the government is also understood to be considering making statutory clearances, including fire department no-objection certificates (NOCs), mandatory before allowing scrapyards to be relocated to designated sites. This could pose another challenge, given that barely around 100 scrapyards in Goa have obtained fire NOCs, as reported earlier.
The continuing delay in identifying land, coupled with regulatory restrictions and opposition from industrial associations, has left the fate of over 400 scrapyards uncertain, with the government yet to work out a viable relocation framework.