New streets, parks proposed

Panaji : The North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) has unveiled the draft town planning scheme for Mapusa to push for a major development overhaul of the downtown area of the town under Phase I.

The draft scheme aims to guide the future growth and development of the core area of Mapusa, which is witnessing rapid urbanisation.

It lays out plans for land utilisation, construction of new roads, parks and public spaces, reservation of land for civic amenities, and restructuring of existing areas.

Mapusa has witnessed rapid urban sprawl over the last decade, with burgeoning residential colonies, shopping complexes and traffic bottlenecks straining the town’s ageing infrastructure.

Unregulated growth has also put heritage homes and traditional businesses under threat.

The draft was recently given consent for publication by the chief town planner.

The authority has invited objections and suggestions from the people on the proposed scheme within the next two months.

Copies have been made available for public scrutiny at the NGPDA office in Panaji, offices of the Mapusa municipality, and the village panchayats of Verla-Canca and Guirim.

The window for submitting objections and suggestions closes on May 14, after which the authority will review the public inputs and may modify the scheme before forwarding it to the government.

According to the NGPDA notification, the draft scheme was prepared by the consultancy firm M/s LKS India Pvt Ltd, which was appointed by the authority in 2015 after obtaining necessary approvals from the government.