*Goa Bachao Abhiyan* C/o 77, Defence Colony, Alto Porvorim-Goa
[email protected] *17th Jan 2016* *The GBA demands that the process of revising the plan be kept in abeyance - until an Act is passed for peoples participation and ecological protection as is part of our international commitment against global warming.* Unless the methodology for ecological protection, criteria for development and peoples participation as per the 73rd & 74th amendment is clearly stated in a new Town & Country Planning Act, Goa will descend into oblivion with repeated unrest and scrapping of plans. The Act must include the following for clarity - a) Methodology for peoples participation and accurate data gathering b) Balanced committee comprising of Ecologists, Economists, Sociologists and civil society members, to avoid conflict of interest. c) Clear criteria for processing inputs. *Planning cannot be done on arbitrary comments invited in 49 days, through a virtual stampede of applications for change of personal land use. Any regional planning exercise needs dedication and years of work. The GBA rejects this retrograde step and warns of more corruption, injustice and court cases to follow as people ask why one is favored over the other. * So greedy is the intent that the government makes no attempt to disguise its action even as it repeats a 10 year old blatant scam to sell more land into 'settlement' areas. *GOVERNANCE THROUGH UNPLANNING - MAKING PLANNING IRRELEVANT* *The GBA objects to the hurried passing of Acts and proposed bills with no scientific rationale but for bypassing balanced development and the people of Goa. Interfering with the status of the coconut tree to favor developers, legalization of unauthorized structures to garner votes, a modified Forest Bill to allow further degradation through development rather than management, all add to the myopic list already existing.* *Section 16 & 16A of the TCP Act* that allows conversion of land 'for the purpose of public projects'. 'Public interest' was made vague with the inclusion of 'Public-private projects' or 'PPP'. *Outline Development Plans ( ODP's ) -* Municipalities, actually a subset of the Regional Plan are increasingly usurping surrounding areas and being treated as another entity with no regard for Ecologically fragile areas. *20% increase in FAR* ( built up area ) for hotels and institutions, passed by the BJP government in 2012. This was passed under the guise of 'budget' and revenue, but interferes wrongly with land use, as extra area means more traffic and larger roads conveniently forgotten in the description. *Eco -Tourism Zones* gives license to build on Ecologically protected areas. Guidelines were suddenly notified three months ago through an emergency act of passing an 'Ordinance' even when the same government could not work on methods and criteria for the RP in 4 years! *Investment Promotion Board* *Act* sidesteps all democratic norms, mentioning clearly that it can override the Regional Plan, and any scrutiny by courts. *The GBA demands for the interest for sustainable development, that all policies and Acts fit into a master regional plan which includes peoples participation, as is practiced by developed nations.* Sabina Martins - Convenor Reboni Saha - Secretary
