Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: Two fresh notifications issued by the town and country planning (TCP) department propose and approve the conversion of close to 30,000 sqm of land to settlement zones across Goa, underscoring the continued pace of land-use change under Section 39A of the TCP Act.Of the two, the TCP granted final approval for conversion of 13,936 sqm, paving the way for the regional plan to be altered and modified as specified by four applicants. The four applications for zone change include Daffodils Hotels, which got the bulk of the TCP department’s nod to convert 8,101 sqm of orchard land and paddy fields to settlement zone in Arossim, Mormugao.TCP’s chief town planner, Vertika Dagur, said, Final approval for zone change is on the condition that the development will be subject to confirmation by the agriculture department regarding unsuitability of the land for agriculture. Secondary development shall be permitted strictly after obtaining NOC from agriculture department and Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority,” said Dagur.Dagur also notified provisional approvals for nine zone change proposals. She announced that the proposals, which predominantly cover relatively small land parcels across multiple talukas, are open for public objections. However, one proposal for correction of land use under Section 39A of the TCP Act pertains to a 16,239 sqm plot at Torxem, Pernem. The TCP approved the conversion of 10,000 sqm.The other proposals are significantly smaller. In Assagao, Bardez, 499 sqm is proposed for conversion from natural cover in an irrigation command area to settlement. In Salcete, multiple parcels between 200 sqm and 376 sqm are proposed in Raia, Deussua, Sao Jose de Areal, and Cuncolim. Smaller land conversions are also proposed in Bicholim (308 sqm) and Quepem (300 sqm).“The town and country planning department, after scrutinising the said proposals, placed such proposals along with its scrutiny reports before the Goa town and country planning board for its recommendation, approval or decision,” said Dagur in the notification.The two notifications differ sharply in scale and stage, with one placing proposals in the public domain and the other granting final approvals, including for large coastal parcels. The TCP’s approvals remain subject to ongoing litigation before the high court.
