AAP, Mickky slam proposal to bifurcate NGPDA

Margao: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as former Nuvem MLA Francisco 'Mickky' Pacheco have joined the chorus of voices who have raised objections to the proposal of the state government to bifurcate the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA).

AAP has opposed the move to have multiple planning and development authorities, calling them "money making machines", and alleging it is being taken only to "keep the alliance partners happy".

"PDAs were created with the purpose of planning and developing, but have unfortunately been reduced to licensing authorities," AAP member, architect Dean D'Cruz said during a media briefing on Thursday.

"In the context of Goa which is the size of a district of a larger state, how many PDAs does the state require," asked convener Elvis Gomes "How many multiple agencies are going to work on the same subject?" he further questioned.

Valmiki Naik said that it was very clear that the additional PDAs are nothing but a juncture for corruption.

On the other hand, ex-MLA Mickky Pacheco also criticised the bifurcation proposal, stating that there was "absolutely no need" for creating more PDAs in North Goa, and also accused the government of bowing to the pressures of coalition forces.

"Now, you are splitting the NGPDA to rehabilitate a politician; tomorrow if somebody else is needed to be accommodated, will you split the South Goa PDA as well? This is unacceptable and I object to this," Pacheco said.

"The government has totally failed to come out with a regional plan. People are put to a lot of inconvenience owing to the absence of a land-use map. People who made a lot of noise about Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn are silent over these failures," Pacheco said.