(Perhaps these views below have repeatedly missed the eyes of the Editor in
Herald. So I am putting it out for anyone in the public who likes to have a
different perspective on developments in Goa. )
At last the open admission in the report "GBA to seek political support to
replace out-dated TCP Act 1974' (Herald, 17th March) is welcome. But in the
same breath it is also being claimed that this amendment or replacement cannot
be expected to happen in the coming session of the Legislative Assembly.
Finally, after being taken on a merry-go-round, we all seem to have landed at
square one on GBA's third birth anniversary. For three years the people were
cheered into participating in the process on ODPs and RP 2021 only to be now
told that none of this planning carnival had any legal sanctity. Some of us
were branded as party-spoilers for demanding from GBA that a new TCP Act first
needs to be put in place by the government even before looking at the Regional
Plan. Meanwhile, we also have talk about some urban planning and village
planning models being developed by some professionals of 'Save Goa' fame known
to have interests in real estate. We are aware that these elements do not mind
dumping socio-economic planning on the people but want to ensure that the
controls over spatial planning remain with them. So, the question still remains
as to what is GBA's perspective on participatory planning?
-Soter D'souza
Socorro
