Navhind Times, 28 May 2008 NT NETWORK
PANAJI: The Goa Bachao Andolan, on Tuesday, rejected the interim report submitted by the task force, questioning the methods used to formulate it, say highly placed sources in the task force. The GBA has alleged that the 73rd and the 74th amendments have not been given proper weightage and the report is based on the old and outdated Town and Country Planning Act as article 243Zd of the Constitution makes it mandatory on the states to constitute district planning committees for preparing the draft development plan. The Union Planning Commission vide circular number M-13011/1/2006-SP-Coord dated August 25, 2006 had issued guidelines to every state government on constituting the DPCs and preparing the district plans and subsequently the state government constituted the DPCs u/s 239 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 vide government notification number 26/25/DP/DPC/S/2003 and re-constituted, vide notification dated September 28, 2006. Also, the Centre For Panchayati Raj, Peaceful Society had made a presentation to the task force on regional plan 2021: the Goa, Daman and Diu Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 [act 21 of 1975] showing that under section 9 of which the regional plan 2021 is sought to be prepared is ultra vires of the article 243 ZD of the Constitution. The GBA is also critical of the amendment to Section 16 and 16A of the TCP. Reportedly, technical members of the task force have also expressed reservations about the amendment and argue that the timeframe is unrealistic and the processes have not been finalised. The government had also commissioned a group to conduct a pilot project of six villages and three municipalities to integrate people's views into a village development plan. Sources say that though this group was appointed two months back with a timeframe of five months, the work has still not started. 'The government has not published the notification regarding the Council for Social Justice and Peace being part of the state level facilitating team for the pilot project as it was agreed upon,'� said the director of the Centre For Pachayati Raj-Peaceful Society, Mr Sotter D' Souza and added that the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat was supposed to do this, two months back. The GBA has also reportedly sought to know why the social audit of the previous regional plans was not undertaken and no scientific analysis, especially economic review, was done. Mr Amol Navelkar of 'Utt Goenkara,' a key member of the GBA, earlier, speaking to '˜The Navhind Times' had said that he was not in favour of the GBA being part of the task force and put his objections down. It is reliably learnt that this protest will also be taken up at the government level, soon. Incidentally, the head of the task force and the government is the same, that is the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat. It may be recalled that in a press note released recently, the GBA had demanded that the government repeal the above-mentioned ordinance. The GBA had also demanded that all other proposals, notifications, executive orders and instructions contrary to the task allotted to the Task Force be withdrawn immediately and wanted the government to make public the proceedings of the task force to ensure transparency and accountability and had warned that in the absence of 'positive remedial action by the government of Goa,'� the GBA would have to reconsider its role in the task force. The convener of the GBA, who is not in town, is expected back soon, say sources. The very first press note issued on December 7, 2006 by the GBA Save Goa Campaign and signed by the convener, Dr Oscar Rebello makes interesting reading. It says, 'Besides the calamitous destruction of Goa's natural beauty, her culture and her heritage, we are set to witness an unprecedented social disaster if mega 5-star projects, townships, condominiums, golf courses, resorts, etc take root in our precious land. Besides being greedily resource intensive, all these megalomaniac projects envisaged in the Regional Plan 2011 will trigger a wealthy and powerful new wave of migrant influx who have the potential to relegate indigenous and already settled Goans into a politically irrelevant minority in their own land.' � -- Question everything -- Karl Marx