Industry in Goa wants swift implementation of RP 2021

NT NETWORK

 

PANAJI

Amid the outrage over land conversions, the industry in Goa is demanding quick decisions from the government on the Regional Plan 2021.

Speaking to this daily on Tuesday, sections of the industry said that the RP 2021 must be speedily implemented to avoid people’s protests and to steer clear of allegations and counter-allegations of illegal land conversion.

Executive member of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Ralph De Souza said that protests are inevitable, as the state lacks a proper document that clears the grey areas between settlement and non-settlement zones. De Souza pointed out that the absence of a regional plan is affecting everybody including the hotel industry, which is facing stalled projects. “Since the government has decided to adopt RP 2021, it must be implemented quickly. Provisions that are unacceptable must be discarded and the rest adopted,” urged De Souza.

According to stakeholders in the local hospitality and tourism industry, absence of a plan document is bad for investment and gives scope for unlawful construction.

Former president of TTAG Francisco Braganza said, “From 2006, nothing has happened. Illegal constructions in Calangute and Candolim are coming up because of the absence of a regional plan.”

The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is also demanding a decision on the regional plan. An official in the GCCI said that with the plan in abeyance, there are a lot of illegal things happening.

On March 29, 2018, the government decided to revive the RP 2021 and said that it would allow construction activities on a case-to-case basis on lands notified as settlement, commercial, institutional and industrial zones. The RP 2021 was earlier put on

hold and rejected by the government.

Local real estate industry represented by Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) has welcomed the decision to implement the provisions of the RP 2021 due to its anticipated positive impact on housing demand. The absence of a plan had held up construction projects, according to CREDAI.

Following the government decision to take up RP 2021, civil groups are up in protest and alleging that several politicians have illegally converted their land from no-development to commercial zone.

The groups have named several politicians across parties as indulging in illegal construction. An inquiry has been instituted against the claims of the civil groups and June 1, 2018, is the deadline for submission of the inquiry report.

Members of Goan industry said that the sooner the regional plan is adopted, the better it is to step up investments and avoid disturbances in public places due to protests.