Greens to oppose changes to RP21, zoning of plots

Panaji: Environmentalists and civil society groups on Monday said that they will oppose, tooth and nail, arbitrary amendments to the Regional Plan 2021 and changes in the zoning of plots for vested interests.
The activists have decried the piecemeal changes to the Regional Plan 2021 and urged the government to formulate a new regional plan for the state.
Goa Foundation along with 43 other civil society associations and organisations met at the Citizens’ Hub where they resolved to initiate a statewide agitation along the lines of the protest that led to the creation of the Goa Bachao Abhiyan in 2006.
“If there are errors on a large scale which are suddenly now being noticed, then it is time for a new regional plan to be drawn up which will make fresh allocations of space and rectify the errors, if any, that are seen in the present plan,” said the organisations in a joint statement.
Environmentalists and activists said that they are anguished by the unprecedented changes and amendments to town planning laws — some executed, some proposed – by the town and country planning department.
Director of Goa Foundation Claude Alvares said that the amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act will be challenged before the judiciary.
“Since zoning changes affect everyone, such changes cannot be allowed without public objections. The move by the government to correct ‘errors’ in the regional plan is suspect as most of the zone changes that are being allowed are large areas, which cannot conceivably be “errors”. Some of the changes allowed violate eco-sensitive zones and some others were in fact rejected earlier,” said Alvares.
The environmentalists and planners have offered to assist TCP in preparing a new regional plan.
“A new plan must ensure total protection of paddy fields, tenanted agricultural lands, eco zones around wildlife sanctuaries, khazan lands and all hill slopes,” said architect Dean D’Cruz.